Fairfield Stags at La Salle Explorers
Thursday 12/22 | 2 p.m.
Tom Gola Arena | Philadelphia, Pa.

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PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle women's basketball team returns home for the first time in 16 days to host Fairfield on Thursday with a 2 p.m. tipoff. The two squads have not squared off since 1992 when both squads were members of the MAAC. La Salle swept the Stags in 1992, its last season in the MAAC, but Fairfield holds a slim 12-10 advantage in the series.

Scouting La Salle (3-8)...
 
The Explorers are coming off of a tough defeat at crosstown foe Drexel. Alexis Scott smashed her previous career high of 21 points by pouring in 33 against the Dragons to help the Explorers stay close. Brittany Wilson added 11 points.
 
Scott's scoring average jumped from 11.1 per game to a team-leading 13.6 thanks to her 33-point output. Wilson averages 11.1 and Jada Payne is chipping in 8.3
 
Ruvanna Campbell continues to lead the defense, grabbing 7.6 boards per contest and blocking a team-best 24 shots total. She ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in blocked shots and ninth in overall rebounding. She is seventh in the A-10 in both offensive and defensive rebounding as well.
 
 
Scouting Fairfield (6-3)...
 
Fairfield's opponents this season have struggled mightily to score. The 6-3 Stags, while only averaging 53.3 points per game themselves, have limited opponents to 52.2. That average includes holding St. Francis (NY) to a measly 30 points in their last game out and Stony Brook to just 34 points earlier this season (while also scoring only 42 points themselves in the win over the Seawolves).
 
The Stags enter today's game on a three-game winning streak, the last a 53-30 win over St. Francis.
 
Two Stags average double figures, including Taryn Johnson with 12.7 points per game and Desiree Pina with 10.9. Johnson also leads the team in rebounding with 7.3 per game and blocks with 18 so far this season.
 
The Explorers and Stags share two common opponents this season - Vermont and Rhode Island. The Stags lost to Vermont 65-48 and topped Rhode Island 66-56. The Explorers play the Catamounts on Dec. 30 and travel to Rhode Island on Feb. 11.

Next Up...

The Explorers take a swing to New England after the Christmas holiday to participate in Dartmouth's Blue Sky Classic. They play host Dartmouth on Thursday (12/29) at 7 p.m., followed by a contest against Vermont on Friday (12/30) at 5 p.m.