PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle women's basketball squad will don pink on Saturday as the Explorers take part in the annual Play-4-Kay Breast Cancer Awareness week when they host Rhode Island at 8:30 p.m.

The game will be the nightcap of a doubleheader with the men's team, which hosts Saint Louis at 5 p.m.

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Rhode Island Rams (7-16, 2-8 Atlantic 10) at La Salle Explorers (11-11, 6-4 Atlantic 10).
Wednesday, February 8 | 8:30 PM | Tom Gola Arena

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Game Notes
La Salle

All-Time Series
La Salle owns a 23-2 lead in the all-time series, having added to that with a 50-44 overtime win in Kingston in the Atlantic 10 opener back on Jan. 2.

Last Time Out
Leeza Burdgess scored 15 points, and the La Salle women's basketball squad outlasted Rhode Island 50-44 in overtime in the Atlantic 10 opener for both squads at the Ryan Center on Thursday afternoon.

Burdgess's 15 points tied a game high with Rhody's Tayra Melendez. Micahya Owens drained 14 points and Khristin Lee chipped in 10 off the bench.

Alicia Cropper pulled down a career-high and game-high 10 rebounds and Jasmine Alston added nine as the Explorers outrebounded the Rams 55-38.

Scouting the Explorers
The Explorers are coming off of a 66-60 win over George Mason on Wednesday night, bouncing back from a seven-point halftime deficit. Owens drained a game-high 20 points, while Cropper and Burdgess added 19 apiece. Alston and Siobhan Beslow pulled down 10 rebounds each to lead the defensive effort.

Cropper has been on fire lately, upping her season average to 13.7 ppg to lead the squad. She is draining 15.7 ppg in league play to rank fifth among all A-10 players. Cropper also ranks in the top 15 in the A-10 in five other categories in league games, including assists (3.0; T-13th), steals (1.5; T-12th), 3-point field goals made (1.8; 9th), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3; 13th) and minutes played (35.8 4th).

Owens is scoring 13.0 ppg overall and in A-10 games to rank second on the team. The rookie continues to pace the squad in free throws, hitting 78.1 percent of her shots overall. She ranks 13th in the league in free throw percentage in A-10 games, going 76.7 percent.

Burdgess is up to 9.5 ppg overall and 11.0 ppg in league play. She continues to lead the defensive effort, ranking 10th in rebounding with 7.5 rpg in league games and also pulls down 3.5 offensive boards per game to rank second in the A-10. Burdgess also moved onto the A-10 top 15 lists in blocked shots (0.9; T-11th) and field goal percentage (47.4%; 10th).

Alston has been terrific at the point, as the freshman is leading the Atlantic 10 in steals per game in league games with 2.4 thefts. She is also dishing out a team-high 3.6 assists in league games, ranking her ninth in the A-10 in that category. She also chips in 6.0 ppg and 5.1 rpg.

Beslow rounds out the usual starting lineup, and continues to be a force especially on the offensive glass. She pulls down 2.4 offensive rebounds per game, ranking 11th in the Atlantic 10. Overall, Beslow is grabbing 5.8 rpg while chipping in just under five points per game.

The Explorers boast the number one scoring defense in the Atlantic 10 as well as the best three-point field goal defense in league games. The squad holds opponents to 55.2 points per game and is stifling on the three-point line by limiting opponents to just 19.8 percent shooting from long range.

The Explorers score 56.8 ppg as a team, struggling lately from the field as they rank at the bottom of the A-10 in field goal and free throw percentage.

Scouting the Rams
Rhode Island comes to Philadelphia seeking to snap a 44-game road losing streak. The Rams topped Massachusetts 73-64 on Wednesday to win their second Atlantic 10 game this season, the first time since 2009-10 that the squad won two A-10 games. With a win on Saturday, they could win their first back-to-back A-10 games for the first time since 2009-10.

Kallie Banker scored a game-high 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting against UMass. Teneka Whittaker added 12 and Kerry Wallack added 11.

Tayra Melendez, who scored 15 against the Explorers last month, leads the squad in scoring with 12.9 ppg. She also adds a team-high 1.5 blocks while chipping in 4.7 rebounds.

Wallack is second on the squad with 9.8 ppg and leads the Rams with 7.8 boards.

Samantha Tabakman, who did not play in the first meeting of the Explorers and Rams, returned to the lineup. She averages 8.3 points and 5.8 rebounds.

The Rams also regained the services of sophomore Brianna Thomas, who did not appear in January's meeting. Thomas is averaging 5.5 points in limited minutes after coming off of an injury.

Rhode Island is last in the Atlantic 10 by scoring just 55.5 points per game; however, the Rams rank third in the league in scoring defense by limiting opponents to 59.7 ppg.