Women's Basketball Wraps Up Nonconference Play With Pair of Home Games

Women's Basketball | December 27, 2014

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle women's basketball team returns from the Christmas break to host a pair of games on Sunday and Tuesday to wrap up the 2014-15 nonconference schedule. The Explorers host Fairfield on Sunday at 1 pm, and UMBC on Tuesday at 2 pm as part of a women's/men's doubleheader at Tom Gola Arena.

La Salle Explorers (7-4) vs. Fairfield Stags (2-8)
Sunday, Dec. 28 | 1:00 PM | Tom Gola Arena
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Tweets @ExplorerGameDay

La Salle Explorers (7-4) vs. UMBC Retrievers (5-5)
Tuesday, Dec. 30 | 2:00 PM | Tom Gola Arena
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio (Free) | Live Tweets @ExplorerGameDay

Follow the Explorers on: Twitter | Instagram

Game Notes
La Salle (vs. Fairfield) | La Salle (vs. UMBC)
Fairfield | UMBC

Video Stream
La Salle's two home games this week will be streamed live on GoExplorers.TV here.

All-Time Series vs. Stags
La Salle and Fairfield have met 25 times in series history, with the Explorers holding a 13-12 edge in the series. The two former MAAC rivals renewed their rivalry in 2011, and this year marks the fourth straight season the teams are meeting. The Stags are 2-1 in that time, including a 64-59 win in Connecticut last season. The Explorers topped the Stags 60-50 the year prior.

All-Time Series vs. Retrievers
La Salle and UMBC have only met twice in series history, in 1977 and 1995. The Explorers won both games, including a 72-44 victory in 1995 and 94-53 win in 1977. The two squads have only played each other in Philadelphia.

Scouting the Explorers
La Salle went 1-1 at the Georgia State Holiday & Hoops Classic in Atlanta last weekend, with a 76-68 win over host Georgia State and a 74-63 loss to Ohio University. Micahya Owens and Amy Griffin were each named to the All-Classic Team. Griffin poured in a career-best 20 points against Ohio, and Owens followed up with a 20-point performance against the host Panthers.

Owens leads the team and is ranked ninth in the Atlantic 10 with 14.1 points per game, while chipping in 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists. Alicia Cropper is the second Explorer in double figures, averaging 12.3 points along with 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists. Cropper by far leads the team with a 77.8 percent free throw clip, converting 21 of her 27 attempts.

Griffin rounds out the top three scorers with 7.5 points per game. Siobhan Beslow leads the team with 6.1 rebounds per outing while chipping in 7.4 ppg.

Jasmine Alston continues to lead the Atlantic 10 in steals, grabbing 2.9 per game. She adds in 7.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and a team-best 3.6 assists per outing.

As the team, the Explorers are shooting 38.1 percent from the field and rank second in the A-10 with a 36.1 percent clip from long range. They are averaging 62.5 ppg while yielding 63.9 to opponents. The squad also ranks third in the A-10 with 4.6 blocked shots per game.

Scouting the Stags
Fairfield enters Sunday's game with a 2-8 record and look to snap a three-game skid. The Stags' two wins were a double overtime 81-77 win over Butler, and a 60-55 victory over Siena.

The Stags are still trying to find their way after losing their three top scorers from last year's 22-11 team that advanced to the third round of the WBI, including All-MAAC First Team pick Katie Cizynski (16.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg). Kristin Schatzlein currently leads the team with 15.0 ppg, and adds 3.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

Casey Smith is the second Stag in double figures by averaging 11.4 points per game while chipping in 4.9 boards. Samantha Cooper rounds out the top three scorers with 8.3 ppg and pulls down a team-high 5.8 rebounds.

As a team, the Stags are shooting 40.1 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three while averaging 59.3 ppg. They yield 69.6 ppg to opponents.

Fairfield was selected to finish fourth in the MAAC this season.

Scouting the Retrievers
UMBC enters the weekend with an even 5-5 record, but will be facing Penn on Monday night prior to the game at La Salle on Tuesday. The Retrievers topped Maryland-Eastern Shore 87-78 last Monday.

The UMBC offense runs primarily through Capree Garner, who leads the America East with 19.0 points per game. The junior transfer from Harford Community College also adds 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.5 assists in her first season as a Retriever.

Amanda Hagaman is second on the team with 9.6 ppg along with a team-high 6.2 rebounds per outing. Taylor McCarley rounds out the top three with 9.0 ppg along with 3.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals.

As a team, the Retrievers average 67.6 ppg while yielding 70.7 ppg. They are shooting 39.0 percent from the field, but just 27.7 percent from three.

UMBC was picked to finish sixth in the nine-team America East Conference.

Next Up
La Salle heads on the road for the Atlantic 10 opener, as the Explorer face Davidson on Sunday (1/4) at 2 pm.

Print Friendly Version