St. Joseph’s A-10 run comes to a close in a 59-44 loss to Saint Louis

WILMINGTON, Del. — St. Joseph’s couldn’t overcome a second-half Saint Louis’ run, one that gave the Billikens a 59-44 edge in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 women’s tournament on Friday at Chase Fieldhouse.

After the No. 6 seeded Hawks (20-10) went into halftime with a two-point lead, the Billikens (15-17) held St. Joe’s to just 16 points in the second half and went on a 14-3 run. Meanwhile, the Hawks went just 6 of 19 from the field in the second and never relinquished the lead.

“It’s certainly not the outcome we came in this tournament looking for, nonetheless, I’m really proud of our team,” said St. Joe’s head coach Cindy Griffin. “This season, having 20 wins is something we should be really proud of, and just getting our program back to where we wanted to be.”

While the Hawks fell short of an A-10 title, they could earn a bid in the women’s NIT. St. Louis, though, will take on No. 2 Rhode Island in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The Hawks were led by Mackenzie Smith’s 15-point performance. Smith, though, fell into foul trouble in the second half. She was limited in her minutes for most of the fourth quarter. Talya Brugler, a sophomore forward, contributed 15 points, and freshman Laura Ziegler led with 10 rebounds.

St. Louis guard Kyla McMakin had a team-high 19 points while Brooke Flowers added 12.

It was evident that the Hawks had little room for mistakes.

When Brugler made a breakaway layup after she stole the ball from Billikens’ Kyla McMakin, a senior guard, the Hawks took over a 13-8 lead, their largest of the game.

But that quickly changed as St. Louis went on a 9-0 run while the Hawks went scoreless for about three minutes. In that time span, St. Joe’s committed two personal fouls and two turnovers.

While they entered halftime with a 28-26 lead, St. Joe’s was held by the Billikens’ defense. The Hawks finished the second shooting just 4 of 14 from the field.

“Just from shot distribution and being able to get the ball out, [St. Louis’] defense was stifling inside,” Griffin said. “They were at spots before we were most times.”

St. Louis’ Kennedy Calhoun stole the ball from Hawks’ Olivia Mullins with three seconds remaining in the third quarter, converting a layup which extended a 12-1 run to take a 44-37 lead.

The run continued with one more play to open the fourth quarter. It wasn’t until St. Joe’s Emma Boslet drove inside the paint for two that the Hawks scoring drought finally came to an end.

However, repeated St. Louis scoring runs proved to be too much for the Hawks as they trailed from behind for the remainder of the fourth. The Billikens took over, going on another 9-2 run that gave St. Louis a 16-point advantage and ultimately ended St. Joseph’s A-10 tournament run.