St. Joseph's Routs Kutztown in Season Opener
Transfer Deja Evans scored 16 points in her St. Joseph's debut as the Hawks won 95-27 at Hagan Arena.
Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Basketball
St. Joseph's women's basketball defeated Kutztown 95-27 on Saturday at Hagan Arena in its season opener. Transfer Deja Evans scored 16 points in her debut, all in the first half, while shooting 8-for-8 from the field.
Why it matters
The lopsided opening win gives an early read on a roster that returned 10 players from last year, including eight of its nine top scorers. The performance offers early evidence of depth and balance heading into a season in which the team is the unanimous pick to finish first in the Atlantic 10.
The season-opening box score recorded 95 points for St. Joseph's against 27 for Kutztown, with Gabby Casey leading all scorers at 19 points and six steals. The source does not address how this opening performance compares with the team's results against stronger opponents, which remain to be seen.
The players
Deja Evans
A transfer guard who made her St. Joseph's debut in the season opener, Evans is from Conshohocken.
Gabby Casey
Casey was the game's leading scorer with 19 points and six steals in the season-opening win.
The details
Deja Evans scored 16 points in the first half, including a 10-2 run to open the second quarter. Evans and the other starters were pulled in the third quarter with St. Joseph's leading by more than 40 points, and Jahzara Green added nine points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes.
Timeline
Saturday: St. Joseph's defeats Kutztown 95-27 at Hagan Arena in its season opener.
Wednesday: St. Joseph's plays at Cincinnati at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
Season Trajectory
St. Joseph's enters the season as the unanimous Atlantic 10 favorite to finish first, a projection built on the return of eight of its nine top scorers from last season. The 95-27 opening win is an early on-court indicator that the roster is delivering on that preseason expectation.
Fans following St. Joseph's can catch the next game on ESPN+ on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Cincinnati. Evans's 16-point debut and the team's 18 steals offer early reasons to track the rotation as the season begins.
The takeaway
Early blowout wins can reflect depth more than talent, so the next road test at Cincinnati will be a clearer measure of how the rotation handles tougher competition. Watching how the bench contributes in that game will indicate whether the roster's returning balance holds.
What happens next
St. Joseph's next game is a road contest at Cincinnati on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
Further reading
For more on the team's season, see the Basketball section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
