PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle women's basketball squad will tip off the 2013-14 season on Friday night, hosting Temple in a Philadelphia Big 5 matchup at Tom Gola Arena.
Temple Owls at La Salle Explorers
Friday, November 8 | 7 PM | Tom Gola Arena
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Game Notes
La Salle | Temple
GameDay Information
- La Salle alumni are invited to the pre-game reception in the Hayman Center Conference Room beginning at 5:30 PM. Cost is $10 and includes food and a ticket to the game.
-The first 100 students in attendance will get "Fear The Stache" pinnies as part of the T-shirt series started during the fall athletic season.
Social Media
Follow the Explorers on Facebook (facebook.com/GoExplorers), Twitter (@goexplorers, @explorergameday) and Instagram (@goexplorers) and search #LaSalleWBB.
Last Time Out
La Salle took down Temple in a big way last season, running to a 71-55 victory at McGonigle Hall behind a career-high 29 points from now-alum Shanel Harrison and 21 points from now-alum Ebonee Jones. Victoria Macaulay led the Owls with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
All-Time Series
Temple owns a slim 22-21 edge in the city series, with the Owls winning 14 of the last 15 matchups. After being conference-mates in the Atlantic 10 since 1995-96, the two squads will meet on the hardwood as nonconference foes for the first time since the 1994-95 season when the Explorers were in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.
Scouting the Explorers
The 2013-14 Explorer squad sports a brand new look this year, welcoming a new starting five lineup, three eligible transfers and four freshmen.
Head Coach Jeff Williams is excited about the impending season, attributing a strong preseason to the presence of strong leadership in the three transfers - Leeza Burdgess, Alicia Cropper, and Khristin Lee. All three have a combined six years of starting experience at BCS schools, Burdgess at Pitt, Cropper at Providence and Lee at Alabama.
"We're very excited about this year, practice has been going great," Williams said at the Atlantic 10 Media Day. "Our transfer kids have been providing tremendous leadership. Practice has been very intense, upbeat, [and] our team chemistry has been great so I'm very excited about this year."
Coach Williams expects good minutes out of everyone on the team. There are new, more stringent foul rules in play for the 2013-14 season across the NCAA, which will make depth that much more important as the game will likely see many more foul calls than in the past.
Point Guards
The Explorers point guard unit will consist of Lee, who is considered a true point guard, Cropper and rookie Jasmine Alston. Lee started 28 of 30 games at Alabama in 2011-12, averaging 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. However, it is her play-making ability that has Coach Williams excited about this high-level transfer. She led the Crimson Tide in assists with 81 (2.7 per game) and also snagged 39 steals, and should be among the Atlantic 10's top defensive players.
Cropper, who started two seasons at Providence and sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, will be looked upon to score the basketball. She averaged 8.1 points and 2.8 rebounds as a Friar in 2011-12, and added 67 assists and 28 steals while starting 28 of 29 games.
Alston will also be looked upon to play some minutes each game as a back-up point guard. The true freshman out of Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., was an All-City pick in her junior and senior seasons.
Guards/Wings
The guards/wings for this season include likely starters Micahya Owens, Siobhan Beslow and Jess Koci, along with reserves Arielle Ward and Deja Bullock.
Owens, a true freshman out of Willingboro High School in South Jersey, is considered among the top freshmen that Coach Williams has recruited. She scored just shy of 2,000 points in her high school career and was the sixth-ranked player in New Jersey in 2013 according to MaxPreps. Owens has the ability to drive to the basket, but also has the ability to pull out and shoot the three.
Beslow and Koci will vie for the fifth starting spot, though Koci will be limited early due to injury. Both are relied upon to provide a defensive spark. Beslow also chipped in 3.1 points per game last season and 3.8 rebounds. Koci, a former Atlantic 10 All-Rookie pick three years ago, also snagged 25 steals last season.
Sophomore Arielle Ward and true freshman Deja Bullock will also be expected to contribute. Ward averaged just shy of 10 minutes a game last year and Bullock was a 1,000-point scorer at Triton Regional High School in South Jersey last season while also pulling down 1,000 career rebounds.
Forwards/Centers
The Explorers have size inside this year, as Burdgess is healthy after losing last season to injury. She was a two-year starter at Pittsburgh, leading the Panthers with 7.3 rebounds per game as a redshirt sophomore. She also added 6.1 points per game while averaging 26 minutes. The 6'4 forward/center also contributed 23 blocked shots in her final season at Pitt.
Indigo Dickens is expected to play a good 15-20 minutes per game, providing another size option inside. The 6'2 forward is in her third season as an Explorer, and contributed 15 blocked shots last year to provide a defensive spark inside.
True freshman Lisa Mintzer also provides height inside at 6'4. The local product out of Cardinal O'Hara High School will be limited early due to a sprained ankle. She was a top-three post player in Pennsylvania last season, leading O'Hara to the Philadelphia Catholic League title and the AAAA state semifinals.
Scouting the Owls
Temple returns three starters and seven letterwinners from last year's 14-18 squad, though the Owls look to replace the services of leading scorer and rebounder Victoria Macaulay. The squad is more experienced this year after being the nation's second-youngest team last season.
Rateska Brown is back this season after averaging 10.8 ppg and 4.3 rpg in 2012-13. Tyonna Williams, who led the squad with 161 assists and sporting a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. She added in 9.4 points per outing and chipped in 3.3 rebounds and a total of 41 steals, and was just one of two players to play and start in all 32 games.
The Owls also welcome a familiar face, transfer Shi-Heria Shipp who played at George Washington. She adds a scoring option after averaging 9.6 ppg as a Colonial last season.
The Owls are in their first season in the American Athletic Conference after a 30-year run in the A-10. They were predicted to finish ninth out of 10 teams in the preseason coaches' poll.
Next Up
The Explorers play again on Sunday, Nov. 17, when they travel to Rutgers for a 1 p.m. tipoff at the RAC.
