PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle women's basketball team pays a visit to Chapel Hill, N.C., on Saturday when the Explorers face No. 25 North Carolina in a noon tipoff at Carmichael Arena.

La Salle Explorers (1-3) at No. 25 North Carolina Tar Heels (4-0)
Carmichael Arena | Chapel Hill, N.C.
Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012 | 12 p.m.

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The Match-Up

Saturday's game will be the first-ever matchup between the Explorers and Tar Heels.

The Explorers are 5-14 all-time against the current ACC, with four of those wins coming over Virginia Tech when the Hokies were in the Atlantic 10. The fifth win is a 93-74 romp over Duke in 1980.

Though the team has never faced the Tar Heels, current Explorer Shanel Harrison has three games against Sylvia Hatchell's squad under her belt. As a junior at Virginia Tech two years ago, Harrison contributed eight points and five rebounds in a 76-51 Hokie loss at Carmichael Arena. A year prior, she contributed four points and three rebounds off the bench in the Hokies' 79-64 upset of the then-10th ranked Tar Heels. She saw 23 minutes against UNC in her freshman season, chipping in six points and a rebound in 23 minutes off the bench.

Scouting the Explorers

La Salle is fresh off its first win of the season, a 49-48 triumph at Lehigh on Tuesday. Brittany Wilson once again hit the 20-point mark, pouring in a game-high 21 points and adding a game-best 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. The Explorers were down two with under 10 seconds remaining when Wilson drove down the court and nailed the game-winning three with seven seconds remaining. Ebonee Jones added 10 points off the bench for the squad.

The Explorers, though not shooting particularly strongly this season, have clamped down on defense the past two games, holding opponents to 52.0 ppg in the last two (Drexel - 56, Lehigh - 48). The squad overcame a 27.3 percent shooting clip at Lehigh on Tuesday behind a defensive effort that saw a 44-40 rebounding advantage, 20-10 offensive rebounding advantage and forcing the Mountain Hawks into 19 turnovers while limiting their own to just 12.

In the last two games, the Explorers have outrebounded opponents 74-69 and forced 33 turnovers to 26 of their own, to help overcome their 31.0 percent team shooting.

Individually, Wilson leads the team and the Atlantic 10 in scoring with 22.3 ppg. She has scored 20+ in all four contests so far this season, compared to six times total last season. Jordan Mosley is chipping in 8.0 ppg and 3.0 rpg and Jones is adding 7.8 ppg and 4.5 rpg off the bench. Jones scored a career-best 18 points in the Explorers' last contest against an ACC team, when they played at Maryland two years ago in the Terrapin Classic.

Scouting North Carolina

The Tar Heels are currently 4-0, coming off of their Preseason WNIT championship title at Iowa on Sunday when they topped the Buckeyes 77-64 in Iowa City. Tierra Ruffin-Pratt scored a game-high 22 points and Xylina McDaniel recorded her second double-double (15 pts, 14 reb.) in four games.

North Carolina began the season outside of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2001-02, but re-entered the poll this week for the first time since last February. The Heels are at No. 25 this week after beating then-No. 25 Georgetown and Iowa in the Preseason WNIT. They opened WNIT play against Atlantic 10 foe Duquesne, edging the Dukes 62-58.

The Heels have three players averaging double figures, led by Ruffin-Pratt's 16.8 ppg. McDaniel averages a double-double of 11.8 ppg and 10.3 rpg. Waltiea Rolle adds 10.8 ppg and leads the squad with 12 blocks. Krista Gross chips in 7.5 ppg, but also averages double-figure rebounds with 11.3 boards per game.

North Carolina is outrebounding opponents by an average of 48.0 rpg to 42.0 rpg. The Heels average 68.0 team points per game, holding opponents to 57.2.

Next Up

The Explorers stay on the road, taking a trip to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Nov. 28, for their second straight game against a BCS opponent. Tipoff at Georgetown is set for 8 p.m.