PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle women's basketball squad escapes from snowy Philadelphia this weekend as the Explorers travel to Gainesville, Fla., for two games in the Florida Gator Holiday Classic. The Explorers tip off against FIU on Friday (12/20) at 4:30 p.m., and will play either host Florida or Tennessee State on Saturday at 4:30 or 7 p.m.

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La Salle Explorers (3-5) vs. FIU Panthers (3-5)
Friday, December 20 | 4:30 PM | O'Connell Center (University of Florida)
Gator Holiday Classic

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Game Notes
La Salle

La Salle Explorers (3-6) vs. Tennessee State (3-9)
Saturday, December 21 | 4:30 PM | O'Connell Center (University of Florida)
Gator Holiday Classic

Game Notes
La Salle

Scouting the Explorers

La Salle looks to get back on track after a tough defeat to fellow Big 5 squad Villanova on Sunday, as the Explorers fell 83-47. There were two bright spots in that tough game, including rookie Jasmine Alston recording setting two career bests en route to her first career double-double. She scored 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, the first time she hit double figures in both categories in her young career. Also, the Explorers went 91.7 percent (11-for-12) from the free throw line, a marked improvement for the squad which has struggled at times at the line this season.

Rookie Micahya Owens, who has now hit double figures in six of her first eight collegiate games, leads the squad with 13.3 points per game. Owens also contributes 5.3 rebounds per game, and is the top free throw shooter on the team with a 78.6 percent clip at the charity stripe.

Khristin Lee, who has missed the last two games with an injury, is still listed day-to-day. She is second on the team with 12.0 ppg and adds 5.5 rpg. Lee continues to rank first in the Atlantic 10 with 3.3 steals per game and is also eighth with 3.7 assists per game.

Alicia Cropper rounds out the top three scorers, draining 11.3 ppg while chipping in 4.4 rpg and 2.1 apg. She continues to lead the league in minutes played, averaging 37.8 minutes on the court. She also ranks in the top 10 in three-point field goals made, connecting for 1.9 long-range shots per game.

As a team, the Explorers are looking to improve offensively as they average just 60.0 ppg. However, they are helped by their strong defense, ranking fourth in the A-10 in scoring defense by giving up just 63.9 ppg. They also continue to lead the league by pulling down 16.6 offensive rebounds per game and remain in the top five in rebounding margin (+3.4).

Scouting the Panthers (3-5)

FIU enters the tournament with an identical 3-5 record after winning three of its last four, most recently a 70-65 victory over Tennessee Tech.

The Panthers boast the nation's fifth-leading scorer in senior guard Jerica Coley. Coley averages 25.8 ppg, and also leads the Panthers in assists (4.9 apg), steals (1.8 spg) and blocked shots (0.9 bpg) while contributing 6.0 rpg. She was named Conference USA's Preseason Player of the Year after leading the nation in scoring last season. She is one of three players to start every game this season, with the remaining two starting spots having rotated.

Sophomore forward/center Brianna Wright has started all eight games, ranking third on the team with 7.6 ppg and leading the squad in rebounding with 7.5 boards. Junior guard Zsofia Labady is the third player who has started every game, and is on the court for a team-high 33 minutes per game. Labady contributes 4.3 ppg and 4.9 rpg.

Kamika Idom has appeared in four games, scoring 7.8 ppg in that time to rank second on the team. Taylor Shade has also contributed, starting three games and scoring 7.1 ppg.

The Panthers score 64.4 ppg as a team while giving up 66.4 to opponents. They also outrebound their opponents by a +4.4 margin. The squad was picked to finish fifth in the 16-team Conference USA.

Scouting the Gators (7-3)

Florida has won four of its last five games and have hit the 100-point mark in the last two. The Gators topped Troy 104-74 on Dec. 4th, then came back from finals to race past St. Francis (Pa.) 105-71.

Though the squad has only 10 players this year, they have been efficient with four players averaging in double figures. Jaterra Bonds leads the squad with 16.5 ppg along with 4.4 assists per game. January Miller is averaging 13.0 ppg, Ronni Williams chips in 10.8 ppg and 7.8 rpg, and Kayla Lewis adds 10.3 ppg while leading the squad with 8.3 rpg.

The Gators are averaging 80.9 ppg.

If the Explorers and Gators both win or both lose on the first day of the Gator Classic, they will meet at 7 p.m. on Saturday to mark the third straight year the two squads played each other. They first met in the Courtyard LaGuardia Turkey Classic at LIU Brooklyn two years ago, and the Gators paid Tom Gola Arena a visit last season and took a 74-50 decision. All-time, the Gators are 3-0 in the series.

Scouting the Tigers (3-8)

Tennessee State enters the weekend at 3-8, having most recently dropped a 94-43 decision to No. 3 Tennessee. Prior to that, the Tigers put together back-to-back wins over North Florida and Martin Methodist.

Chelsea Hudson leads the Tigers with 18.0 ppg. Rachel Allen adds 11.5 ppg and I'mani Davis chips in 6.8 to round out the top three scorers. Hudson is also the team's leading rebounder with 7.6 boards per game.