Senior guard Mackenzie Smith led a balanced St. Joseph’s University scoring effort with 26 points to carry the Hawks to a 74-48 victory over the University of Maine at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia on Monday night.
Smith hit 6-of-9 three-point shots to spark St. Joseph’s perimeter scoring and 6-foot-2 junior forward Laura Ziegler added 16 points and 16 rebounds from inside as the Hawks pulled out to an 18-9 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.
The Hawks, who play in the Atlantic 10 conference, improved to 7-2 with the victory.
The Black Bears dipped to 3-7 on the season after losing their third straight road game against non-conference opponents. UMaine was led by junior guard Asta Blauenfeldt’s 17-point effort. Olivia Rockwood, a senior guard, added 11 points.
St. Joseph’s got 14 points from Talya Brugler and 11 points from Gabby Casey amid a dominant performance that saw the Hawks outrebound the Black Bears 33-19 and shoot 60 percent from the floor while holding UMaine to 37 percent shooting accuracy.
St. Joseph’s led 35-28 at the half then broke the game open in the third quarter outscoring the Black Bears 21-13.