PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle women's basketball squad gets a second crack this season at Saint Joseph's when the Explorers pay the Hawks a visit at Hagan Arena on Wednesday night. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

The game will be the third of four Play4Kay breast cancer awareness game for the Explorers. They hosted their own on Saturday against Rhode Island after donning pink at Saint Louis the week prior. They will also wear pink at Fordham on Saturday.

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La Salle Explorers (11-11, 6-4 Atlantic 10) at Saint Joseph's Hawks (17-6, 6-4 Atlantic 10)
Wednesday, February 12 | 7:00 PM | Tom Gola Arena

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Game Notes
La Salle

All-Time Series
Saint Joseph's leads the series 37-9, having added to their record with the 64-52 decision at Tom Gola Arena on Jan. 19.

Last Time Out
Though Saint Joseph's led from wire-to-wire, the La Salle women's basketball team played a close game in a 64-52 Atlantic 10 and Big 5 setback to the Hawks at Tom Gola Arena on Sunday evening in a game televised nationally.

Alicia Cropper drained a game-high 17 points while adding three rebounds and three assists. Leeza Burdgess recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, leading all players on the boards.

The Hawks had four players reach double figures, led by Sarah Fairbanks' 16 points off the bench. Natasha Cloud added 14 points, nine rebounds and a game-high nine assists, while Erin Shields and Ilze Gotfrida chipped in 10 apiece.

Scouting the Explorers
The Explorers have put together back-to-back wins to move to 7-4 in the Atlantic 10, a fifth place tie with George Washington. They defeated George Mason 66-60 last Wednesday, coming back from a seven-point halftime deficit and overcoming a six-point deficit with under five minutes remaining. That game marked the first time this season that the Explorers came back to win after trailing with under five to go. The team then won its second straight, a 50-42 defensive battle with Rhode Island.

Micahya Owens was the game-high-scorer in both contests, scoring 20 and 18 respectively.

Cropper maintains the team scoring lead, draining 13.7 ppg overall and 15.5 ppg in league play. She has found her way on to the Atlantic 10's top 15 lists in seven different categories, including ranking seventh in scoring in A-10 games. The point guard also adds 5.4 rebounds per game and is dishing out 2.5 assists per game.

Owens is second on the squad in scoring with 13.2 ppg overall and 13.5 ppg in league games to rank 15th in the A-10. Owens also leads the Explorers at the charity stripe, hitting 78.9 percent of her free throws.

Burdgess rounds out the top three scorers, averaging 9.2 ppg while leading the team with 7.3 rebounds. She ranks second in the Atlantic 10 with 3.5 offensive rebounds per game since the start of league play. She is also hitting 45.5 percent of her shots from the field in league games to rank 13th in the A-10.

Jasmine Alston has put together back-to-back double-figure rebounding games, corraling 10 boards against both George Mason and Rhode Island. The freshman guard is leading the Atlantic 10 in steals with 2.3 thefts per game in league games, and is ranked sixth with 3.8 assists per game in A-10 play.

Siobhan Beslow continues to rank in the league's top 15 with 2.4 offensive boards per game and is second on the squad with 5.8 rpg overall. She also chips in 4.4 points.

Lisa Mintzer and Deja Bullock continue to contribute off the bench, seeing significant minutes in their rookie seasons. Mintzer chips in 2.3 points and 2.6 rebounds while Bullock has been grabbing 2.5 rebounds per game.

The Explorers boast the number one scoring defense in A-10 play, limiting league opponents to just 54.0 ppg. They also continue to be stifling around the perimeter, keeping opponents to a scant 19.3 percent shooting clip from long range.

The team is averaging 57.9 ppg on the offensive end, and looks to improve upon its recent cold shooting streak. Despite the wins, the Explorers shot under 40 percent in each and are shooting a league-low 34.7 percent from the field and just 62.7 percent at the free throw line.

Scouting the Hawks
Saint Joseph's is looking to get back on track after dropping two of its last three, which included Saint Louis stunning the Hawks 69-65 at Hagan Arena on Jan. 29. The Hawks then topped VCU 70-51 before dropping a 73-67 decision at red-hot St. Bonaventure last Wednesday. The Hawks are coming off of their weekend bye after playing the Bonnies on Feb. 5th.

Natasha Cloud drained a game-high 22 points at St. Bonaventure, with Sarah Fairbanks adding 16.

The Hawks rank in the top half of the Atlantic 10 in both scoring offense (71.8 ppg; 5th) and scoring defense (63.2 ppg; 6th). They are the league's top free throw shooting team, going a blistering 80.7% at the charity stripe. They also go 43.1 percent from the field overall, while limiting opponents to a league-low 37.4 percent from the field.

Three players average double figures for the Hawks, led by Erin Shields' 15.5 ppg. Shields also chips in 3.3 rpg from the point.

Fairbanks is second on the squad with 14.3 ppg while pulling down 6.6 boards and registering a team-best 30 blocked shots on the season.

Cloud ranks third with 12.2 ppg and leads the squad in both rebounding (6.8 rpg) and assists (7.3 apg).

The only category in which the Hawks do not own an edge is in rebounding. They pull down 38.2 boards as a team, while their opponents have snagged 38.7 rpg.