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Women's Basketball Hosts Saint Louis on Wednesday

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Women's Basketball | January 21, 2015

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle women's basketball team returns to Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday night when the Explorers host Saint Louis at 7pm.  

La Salle Explorers (10-8, 1-4 Atlantic 10) vs. Saint Louis Billikens (8-10, 1-4 Atlantic 10)
Wednesday, Jan. 21 | 7:00 PM | Tom Gola Arena
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Game Notes
La Salle | Saint Louis

Video Stream
Wednesday's contest vs. Saint Louis will be streamed on GoExplorers.TV.

All-Time Series vs. Billikens
The Explorers and Billikens are meeting for the 11th time in program history in a series that dates back to Saint Louis joining the Atlantic 10 in 2005-06. The Explorers own a 6-4 edge in the series, as the teams split a pair of games last year. SLU took a 53-43 regular season decision at Chaifetz Arena, but the Explorers topped the Billikens 65-56 in the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic 10 Championship on March 6. 

Scouting the Explorers
The Explorers look to bounce back after a disappointing two-game road trip that saw losses to Massachusetts and Rhode Island to extend a four-game skid. The last three games have been lost by a combined six points, including the 55-54 overtime heartbreaker at Rhody on Sunday. 

The squad is trying to regain its offensive touch that it had early in the season. The Explorers consistently ranked in the top three in three-point field goal percentage overall, but are shooting just 23.7 percent from long range against league opponents and 35.0 percent overall. They do rank in the top six in scoring offense however, scoring 63.0 ppg against A-10 competition.

Micahya Owens continues to lead the squad in scoring with 14.0 ppg, which ranks her 11th overall in the Atlantic 10, while Alicia Cropper's 13.3 ppg ranks her 14th in the league. Owens adds 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Cropper has been contributing 5.0 rebounds and is second on the squad with 2.7 assists per game.

Cropper remains on a 1,000-point watch. She is up to 962 for her career, needing just 38 more points to hit the milestone.

Siobhan Beslow is up to 8.2 points on the season after draining a career-best 16 at UMass last Thursday. The redshirt junior has stepped it up in A-10 play, hitting 53.5 percent of her field goal attempts against league opponents to rank sixth in the conference. She also pulls down a team-best 6.4 rebounds and ranks third in the league with 4.4 offensive rebounds per game.

Jasmine Alston recorded her first double-double of the season at UMass with 10 points and a season-high 11 rebounds, and is up to 6.7 ppg and 5.1 rpg. She continues to lead the Atlantic 10 with 2.6 steals per game, and leads the team by dishing out 3.2 helpers per contest.

On the season, the Explorers average 63.4 ppg while yielding 63.7. They also own a +0.4 rebounding edge (40.6 rpg - 40.2 rpg).

The Explorers have done a terrific job of limiting turnovers this season, committing just 15.3 per game while forcing opponents into 17.4 for a +2.1 margin. That margin balloons to a whopping +7.20 in league play as the squad has committed a league-low 12.8 against A-10 opponents and forcing opponents into 20.0. They committed an uncharacteristic 19 turnovers at UMass; that, however, was negated by them forcing the Minutewomen into 28.

Scouting the Billikens
Saint Louis is coming off of a 53-50 home loss to Davidson, becoming the squad to give the Wildcats their first win since joining the A-10. The Billikens are 1-4, with their lone A-10 win over UMass on Jan. 7, and are also looking to snap a three-game skid. Prior to their Davidson loss, they dropped contests to VCU and Duquesne.

Sadie Stipanovich is the lone Billiken in double figures, leading the squad with 14.1 ppg while pulling down a team-best 6.3 rpg. She has also recorded 22 of the team's 42 blocked shots this season.

Jackie Kempf is second on the team with 8.6 ppg, but her specialty is setting up shots as the freshman guard ranks second in the A-10 with 5.7 assists per game on the season. Denisha Womack rounds out the top three scorers with 7.9 ppg and chips in 5.5 rpg.

Saint Louis has also struggled to find the basket this season, ranking last in the A-10 with a 34.7 percent field goal clip on the season. They make up for it, however, by holding opponents to 34.7 percent to rank third in the league in field goal percent defense. The Billikens average 64.9 ppg, while yielding 65.4 ppg. 

The Billikens strong point, like the Explorers, is limiting turnovers as the team sports a 1.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. They commit just 15.3 miscues while dishing out 17.4 assists per game; that 17.4 apg number ranks them second in the A-10.

Next Up
The Explorers remain home this weekend to host #24 George Washington on Saturday at 1pm.
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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
Micahya Owens

#34 Micahya Owens

F
5' 11"
Sophomore

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
Micahya Owens

#34 Micahya Owens

5' 11"
Sophomore
F