Skip To Main Content

La Salle University Athletics

scoreboard

scoreboard

Women's Basketball Faces Big 5 Test at Villanova on Sunday

wbb team

Women's Basketball | December 11, 2014

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle women's basketball team returns from a week off for finals, as the Explorers head to Villanova on Sunday for their third Big 5 test of the season. Tipoff at The Pavilion is set for 7:30 pm.

La Salle Explorers (6-2) at Villanova (2-6)
Sunday, Dec. 14 | 7:30 PM | The Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Tweets @ExplorerGameDay

Follow the Explorers on: Twitter | Instagram

Game Notes
La Salle | Villanova

Video Stream
The contest between La Salle and Villanova will be streamed live on Nova Nation All-Access. Click here to access the stream.

All-Time Series
La Salle is 9-34 all-time against Villanova, with the Wildcats winning the last five. The squad came close in the last visit to The Pavilion, dropping a tight 49-44 decision.

Scouting the Explorers
La Salle is on its first six-game win streak since the 2011-12 squad accomplished the same, and is looking for its seventh straight. The Explorers last played on Dec. 6, toppling William & Mary 78-71. They rallied from 14-down at halftime, exploding for a 47 second-half points while limiting the Tribe to 26 in the second stanza. Alicia Cropper, the reigning Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Week, led the effort with a game-high 20 points of which 17 were in the second half. Micahya Owens added 15 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. Jasmine Alston was one rebound shy of a double-double for the second straight game, scoring 11 points and pulling down a game-high nine rebounds. Rookie Amy Griffin went 5-for-9 en route to a career high 12 points. Khristin Lee put together one of her most well-rounded games of the season, chipping in six points, pulling down six rebounds, dishing out a game-high five assists and grabbing a game-high five steals in 31 minutes of play.

The Explorers have been hot behind the shooting of offensive duo Cropper and Owens. Cropper is averaging 16.0 ppg in her five games, and has hit the 20-point mark twice in the four games since her return from injury. Her 16.0 ppg clip would rank her fifth in the Atlantic 10*. She adds 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. 

Owens is second on the squad with 14.5 ppg, which ranks her ninth in the A-10. Her three-point numbers have been terrific this seaosn as she is hitting 40.5 percent of her long range shots to rank sixth in the A-10. She has also hit her stride at the free throw line, upping her season percentage to 79.2 percent (19-24) to rank seventh in the A-10.

Siobhan Beslow rounds out the top three scorers, as she chips in 8.3 ppg. She is the team's leading rebounder with 6.5 boards per game, and ranks in the top 15 of the A-10 with 1.1 blocked shots per game. Jasmine Alston continues to lead the A-10 by far with 3.5 steals per game which also puts her seventh nationally, and she also leads the team with 3.8 assists per outing. She chips in 7.8 points and 4.9 rebounds, but has caught fire lately by averaging 13.0 ppg in the last three. That includes a career-high 18 points against Towson, 10 at Robert Morris and 11 against William & Mary.

The Explorers rank in the top five of the Atlantic 10 in eight statistical categories, including second in the league in both blocked shots (5.5 bpg) and three-point field goal percentage (39.4%). The long range shooting has been hot lately, with the squad posting a blistering 71.4 percent clip (10-for-14) at Robert Morris. 

For the season, the Explorers average 64.1 ppg while limiting opponents to 61.4 ppg. In the current six-game win streak, those numbers shoot up to 68.7 ppg to 59.8 ppg. 

Scouting the Wildcats
Villanova has struggled out of the gate this year, after last year's 23-9 record and WNIT Second Round appearance. The Wildcats have limped to a 2-6 record, with their lone wins over Cal State Fullerton and College of Charleston. They dropped a 58-54 Big 5 decision to Saint Joseph's in their last game on Dec. 7, which was the most local the team has played all season. The meeting with the Explorers is actually the Wildcats' first home game of 2014-15, as they competed in two tournaments and had three single games on the road.

The Wildcats, however, will enjoy being home as Sunday marks the first of six straight home games. They do not venture back out on the road until a Jan. 9 contest at Creighton. 

Preseason All-BIG EAST player Caroline Coyer leads the Wildcats as the lone player averaging double figures. She scores 11.5 ppg, while leading the team with 3.5 assists as well. Lauren Burford is second on the team with 9.4 ppg, and chips in 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Kavunaa Edwards rounds out the top three scorers, chipping in 7.6 ppg. She is tied with Taylor Holeman with 5.8 rebounds per game to lead the squad.

As a team, the Wildcats are scoring 52.9 ppg while limiting opponents to 52.6 ppg. They are shooting just 34 percent on the season.

Villanova was selected to finish third in the BIG EAST preseason coaches' poll, behind DePaul and St. John's.

Next Up
La Salle heads south next weekend, playing a two-game set in Georgia State's Holiday & Hoops Classic. The Explorers face Ohio University on Friday (12/19) at 7 pm, and face host Georgia State on Saturday (12/20) at 6 pm.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Jasmine Alston

#11 Jasmine Alston

G
5' 9"
Sophomore
Siobhan Beslow

#2 Siobhan Beslow

F
5' 11"
Redshirt Junior
Alicia Cropper

#14 Alicia Cropper

G
5' 7"
Redshirt Senior
Khristin Lee

#3 Khristin Lee

G
5' 9"
Graduate Student
Micahya Owens

#34 Micahya Owens

F
5' 11"
Sophomore
Amy Griffin

#21 Amy Griffin

G/F
6' 1"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Jasmine Alston

#11 Jasmine Alston

5' 9"
Sophomore
G
Siobhan Beslow

#2 Siobhan Beslow

5' 11"
Redshirt Junior
F
Alicia Cropper

#14 Alicia Cropper

5' 7"
Redshirt Senior
G
Khristin Lee

#3 Khristin Lee

5' 9"
Graduate Student
G
Micahya Owens

#34 Micahya Owens

5' 11"
Sophomore
F
Amy Griffin

#21 Amy Griffin

6' 1"
Freshman
G/F