PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle women's basketball squad opens Atlantic 10 Tournament play on Thursday at 5 p.m., when the seventh-seeded Explorers take on 10th-seeded Saint Louis in a first round game at the Richmond Coliseum.

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No. 7 La Salle Explorers (14-14- 9-7 Atlantic 10) vs. No. 10 Saint Louis (12-17, 7-9 Atlantic 10)
Thursday, March 5 | 5:00 PM | Richmond Coliseum

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Game Notes
La Salle

All-Time Series
La Salle leads the series, 5-4, winning three of the last four contests. Saint Louis broke up a three-game Explorer win streak on Feb. 1, when the Billikens took a 53-43 win at Chaifetz Arena.

Last Time Out
The La Salle women's basketball squad jumped out to an 18-7 lead midway through the first half, but Saint Louis climbed back to defeat the Explorers 53-43 at Chaifetz Arena on Feb. 1. Alicia Cropper led all scorers with 22 points and Micahya Owens added 12 for the Explorers. SLU's Desiree Ball led the home team with 13 points. Sadie Stipanovich added 11 off the bench and Jamesia Price chipped in 10. Denisha Womack pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds.

Scouting the Explorers
The Explorers enter the tournament after putting together a 9-7 league record, the most wins the program has had in the Atlantic 10 since the 1996-97 squad won 12 games. Cropper was recognized in the postseason awards, garnering Second Team All-Conference after leading the team in scoring in the regular season as well as in a number of other categories. Owens was also recognized, earning Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honors after posting 13.4 ppg in the regular season to rank second on the squad.

The Explorers wrapped up the regular season with a splash, upsetting both Duquesne on the road and St. Bonaventure at home on Senior Day. The squad rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half to come back and defeat the Dukes 68-63. Owens tied her career high with 23 points and Jasmine Alston - the reigning A-10 Rookie of the Week and Big 5 Player of the Week - tied her own career mark with 16 points while adding eight rebounds and four assists.

They continued strong with a 55-49 upset of second-place and now-second-seeded St. Bonaventure in last Saturday's season finale. The squad clamped down on defense to hold the Bonnies to their lowest point total since an 88-39 loss to top-ranked UConn in November. Cropper led the team with 17, Leeza Burdgess added 13, and Alston chipped in 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists once again.

The Explorers concluded the regular season with the number one scoring defense in the league, allowing league opponents just 56.8 ppg. They also topped the league in field goal percent defense and three-point field goal percent defense, limiting opponents to just 37.0 percent from the field and a paltry 19.0 percent from long range.

The Explorers exemplified the adage that defense wins games. They held opponents to under 60 points in 15 of their 28 games this year and under 50 points in six contests. They went 5-1 when holding opponents under 50 points, with their only loss a 43-42 setback at third-seeded Fordham.

The team has struggled offensively, however, ranking 12th in both scoring offense and field goal percentage and 13th in free throw percentage. The Explorers shot 36.1 percent from the field during A-10 play and scored just 57.2 ppg against league opponents.

Individually, Cropper led all scorers wtih 14.4 points ppg overall and her 16.2 ppg in league play ranks her seventh in the Atlantic 10. She also dished out 3.1 assists against conference foes to rank in the top 15  and was ninth with 1.9 three-pointers made per game. The guard also pulled down 4.8 defensive rebounds per game to tie for 15th with fellow Explorer guard Alston. Cropper also added 5.4 rebounds and dished out 2.6 assists per contest. She reached double figures in all but five games, and has hit the 10+ mark in the last 10 straight contests. She drained a career-high 32 points in the Explorers' 77-68 road win over George Washington and has hit the 20-point mark on four other occasions.

Owens finished the season with 13.4 ppg overall and 13.6 ppg against league opponents. The mark against A-10 foes ranks her 13th in the league in her rookie season. The forward added 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, while starting all 28 contests in her rookie year. She leads the team in free throw percentage, hitting 79.1 percent of her shots to also rank in the top 15 in the Atlantic 10.

Burdgess added 9.2 ppg to round out the top three scorers and led the squad in rebounding with 7.0 rpg. She pulled down 6.9 boards in league play to rank 13th in the Atlantic 10.

Alston added 6.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg and a team-best 3.1 assists per game. She kicked it up with 3.9 assists in league play to rank seventh in the A-10. She also finished the regular season with 1.9 steals per game against league foes, ranking second overall in the conference after leading the league the majority of the conference season.

Scouting the Billikens

Saint Louis finished the A-10 season with a 7-9 record, topping Massachusetts 87-68 in the season finale. The Billikens dropped two games prior to that against Dayton (L, 67-58) and VCU (L, 74-67), but own wins over second-seeded St. Bonaventure and defending A-10 champion Saint Joseph's.

The Billikens average 62.3 ppg as a team overall and give up 64.6. They rank in the top half of the league by hitting 40.8 percent of their field goal attempts against A-10 opponents, and also score 72.3 percent of their free throw attempts on the season.

Erin Nelson, an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie pick, led the Billikens with 14.3 ppg overall and 14.1 ppg against league foes. She ranks 11th in the A-10 in scoring against league opponents. Nelson also chipped in 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

Desirae Ball was second on the squad with 12.1 ppg while dishing out 2.6 assists. She is dangerous at the free throw line, nailing 82.7 percent of her shots.

Denisha Womack rounds out the top three scorers with 10.1 ppg while leading the team with 7.6 rebounds. She is also hot at the free throw line, going 79.2 percent on the season.

Rookie Sadie Stipanovich chips in 7.6 points and 6.3 rebounds, and is a 45.5 percent shooter. She came off the bench for 11 points against the Explorers back on Feb. 1.