No. 11 Utah hands St. Joe’s its first women’s basketball loss of the season
The Hawks were unable to dig themselves out of a 16-point deficit in the first quarter.
Talya Brugler of St. Joseph's goes up for a shot against Jenna Johnson of Utah during the first half on Dec. 7, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
by Mia Messina
Published
St. Joseph’s eight-game win streak was snapped Thursday night after a 74-48 loss to No. 11 Utah. The previously undefeated Hawks (8-1) found themselves trailing from tipoff at Hagan Arena, and were unable to fight their way back.
“Today was really good for us, because as much as you can say about a top-25 team, until they experience it, until they sense it, taste it, feel it, compete against it, they won’t know,” St. Joe’s head coach Cindy Griffin said. “We needed to experience this if we want to be there in March.”
Statistical leaders
Junior Talya Brugler paced the Hawks with 16 points, followed by Mackenzie Smith, who put up 10. Sophomore Laura Ziegler had eight boards.
Utah (8-1) dominated from the start, going on a 17-2 run to build a sizable lead, which the Utes carried throughout the first half. St. Joe’s trailed by 16 to end the first quarter. The Hawks’ offense came out stronger in the second quarter, with a 9-2 run of their own to end the half, but still trailed 38-26.
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St. Joe’s was able to cut the deficit to six in the third quarter, but Utah’s offense quickly responded.
“I thought we had a lot of fight in this. I think we made some key mistakes defensively that I thought really hurt us,” Griffin said. “A team like that can really penalize us for that, which they did.”
Game-changing play
Utah started the fourth quarter with a 14-2 point run to pull away and solidify their lead over St. Joe’s. Forward Alissa Pili scored all 14 of Utah’s points, while guard Inês Vieria bagged three assists.
“We didn’t do enough defensively to stop [Pili], and we’ve gotta learn from that,” Griffin said.
The run gave Utah a 16-point lead, and served as the exclamation point on what was a dominating performance over St. Joe’s.
The St. Joseph's team huddles before their game against Utah at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Inês Viera of Utah gets sandwished bewteen Aleah Snead (left) and Emma Boslet of St. Joseph's during the 2nd half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. Utah is ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's is undefeated.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Alissa Pili (center) of Utah goes up for a shot through a crowd of St Joseph defenders during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. L-R: Chloe Welch, Julia Nystrõm, and Tayla Brugler of St. Joseph's. Utah is ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's is undefeated.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Chloe Welch (right) of St. Joseph's tries to get a shot off against Kennady McQueen of Utah during the 2nd half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. Going into the game, Utah is ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's is undefeated.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Mackenzie Smith (center) of St. Joseph's collides with Dasia Young (left) and Alissa Pili of Utah during the 2nd half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Laura Zeigler (left) of St. Joseph's and Alissa Pili of Utah go after a rebound during the 2nd half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. Going into the game, Utah is ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's is undefeated.Read moreCharles Fox
Talya Brugler of St. Joseph's goes up for a shot against Jenna Johnson of Utah during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. Going into the game, Utah is ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's is undefeated.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Mackenzie Smith (left) and Talya Brugler (right) of St. Joseph's battle for the ball with Jenna Johnson of Utah during their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Coach Cindy Griffin of St. Joseph's during their game against Utah at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
The St. Joseph's bench celebrates during their 2nd half run against Utah at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. They narrowed Utah's lead to 6.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Talya Brugler (right) of St. Joseph's goes up for a shot againt Jenna Johnson of Utah during the 2nd half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. Going into the game, Utah is ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's is undefeated.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Tayla Brugler of St. Joseph's doesn't let her hair bother as she goes up for a shot against Jenna Johnson of Utah during the 2nd half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. Going into the game, Utah is ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's is undefeated.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Mackenzie (right) of St. Joseph's applies defense against Alissa Pili of Utah during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. Going into the game, Utah is ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's is undefeated.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Chloe Welch of St. Joseph's goes up for a shot against Utah during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. Going into the game, Utah is ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's is undefeated.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Mackenzie Smith of St. Joseph's tries to get a shot up against Matuson Wilke of Utah during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. Going into the game, Utah is ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's is undefeated.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Tayla Brugler (left) of St. Joseph's and Alissa Pili of Utah pursue a loose ball during the 2nd half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. Going into the game, Utah is ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's is undefeated.Read moreCharles Fox
Kennady McQueen (top) of Utah shoots over Kaylie Griffin of St. Joseph's during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. Going into the game, Utah is ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's is undefeated.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
The dejected St. Joseph's bench. St. Joseph's suffered its first loss of the season to Utah at Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. Going into the game, Utah was ranked #12 in the country and St. Joseph's was undefeated. Laura Ziegler is center.Read moreCharles Fox
The St. Joseph's huddles after their loss to Utahat Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. It was their first loss of the season.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
The St. Joseph's women's coaching staff walks off the court after their loss to Utahat Hagan Arena on Dec. 7, 2023. It was their first loss of the season.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Up next
The Hawks will close out the week with a home game against Villanova on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN+).
