La Salle Explorers at West Virginia Mountaineers
Wednesday 11/30 | 7 p.m.
WVU Coliseum | Morgantown, W.Va.
Live Stats | Live Video | Twitter @GoExplorers_com | Game Notes
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The La Salle women's basketball squad rounds out a three-game road trip with a swing at West Virginia tonight, with tip off against the Mountaineers set for 7 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum.
Wednesday marks only the second-ever meeting of the two schools, with the Mountaineers taking a 79-76 decision in Philadelphia on Jan. 28, 1979. West Virginia also marks the third of four BIG EAST opponents for the Explorers this season, as they have already played Rutgers and St. John's and have Villanova on tap for Sunday.
Scouting the Explorers...
The Explorers (2-5) are looking to bounce back from a two-game skid at the Courtyard LaGuardia Turkey Classic over Thanksgiving weekend at Long Island University. After knotting the game at 51-all midway through the second half, Florida went on a run to take an 85-74 decision in the opening game of the two-game tournament. Host Long Island jumped out to an early lead and although the Explorers cut the Blackbird deficit to single digits, the early LIU lead was too much to overcome in a 69-53 loss.
Alexis Scott netted 16 points against Florida and 14 against Long Island, and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Scott paces the Explorers with 12.3 points per game off the bench, while contributing 3.9 rebounds, 10 assists, six steals and three blocks as a guard.
Jada Payne is the other Explorer averaging double figures with 10.1 per contest, while adding 5.0 rebounds. The freshman, who averages over 29 minutes per game, is the only player to have started all seven games so far this season.
Jordan Mosley rounds out the trio of top scorers, averaging 9.3 points per game. The rookie guard leads the squad with 11 assists while chipping in 3.6 rebounds.
Ruvanna Campbell leads the defensive effort with a team-leading 7.1 rebounds per game. She ranks 19th in the nation in blocked shots with 2.9 per contest.
Scouting the Mountaineers...
West Virginia (3-2) is coming off of a 1-1 weekend at the Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Classic at Cal State Northridge. The Mountaineers upset No. 25 UCLA 63-54 to open play in California before dropping a 48-47 heartbreaker to host Northridge.
The Explorers are the second Atlantic 10 team of the season for the Mountaineers, as WVU dropped a 56-48 decision to St. Bonaventure on Nov. 18.
Taylor Palmer leads the Mountaineers with an 18.4 point scoring clip while chipping in 2.9 rebounds. She is the only Mountaineer averaging double figures however, as second-leading scorer Asya Bussie averages 9.4 points per game and Jessica Harlee adds 8.4.
West Virginia is a strong rebounding squad with a trio of players averaging more than seven boards per game, led by Ayana Dunning's 9.0 per contest. Bussie adds 7.6 and Harlee chips in 7.4.
Next Up...
The Explorers return home on Sunday (12/4) for the fourth of four BIG EAST opponents and the second Big 5 contest of the year when they host Villanova at Tom Gola Arena at 2 p.m.
