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Women's Basketball Hosts Fordham On Thursday

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Women's Basketball | January 7, 2015

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle women's basketball team returns home on Thursday night when the Explorers host defending Atlantic 10 champion Fordham at Tom Gola Arena at 7 pm. The Explorers put a perfect home record on the line, as the squad has gone 5-0 at home so far this year. Two of the previous three contests against the Rams have been decided by just one point, with the Explorers winning 56-55 three years ago and the Rams winning 43-42 last season.

La Salle Explorers (10-4, 1-0 Atlantic 10) vs. Fordham Rams (9-5, 1-0 Atlantic 10)
Thursday, Jan. 8 | 7:00 PM | Tom Gola Arena
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Game Notes
La Salle | Fordham

Video Stream
Thursday's contest vs. Fordham will be streamed on GoExplorers.TV.

All-Time Series vs. Rams
La Salle and Fordham have a long history as conference mates in both the Atlantic 10 and the MAAC, and Thursday's game marks the 45th all-time meeting. The two squads were in the MAAC from the time La Salle joined in 1983 until Fordham left in 1990, and have been Atlantic 10 foes since 1995-96. The Explorers own a commanding 34-10 series lead over the Rams; however, the Rams have won two of the last three including last year's last-second 43-42 decision on free throws at Rose Hill Gym. Two years prior, the Explorers did the same, topping the Rams 56-55 at Rose Hill on last-second free throws.

Scouting the Explorers
La Salle has raced out to a 10-4 record and won its Atlantic 10 opener at Davidson on Sunday, topping the Wildcats 63-54 on the road in the first-ever meeting of the two programs. Alicia Cropper led all scorers with 19 points. Micahya Owens added 14, and rookie Amy Griffin chipped in 11 along with career bests in rebounds (7), assists (4) and steals (2). The Wildcats chipped away at the Explorers' 11-point halftime lead to knot the game at 45-45, but the Explorers outscored the 'Cats 18-9 down the stretch.

The Explorers average 63.5 points per game, while yielding 62.7 to opponents. The squad maintains the No. 2 ranking in the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goal percentage as the Explorers have nailed 35.7 percent of their long range shots this season. That figure is helped by Alicia Cropper and Micahya Owens, who are both in the top eight in the league individually in three-point percentage. Cropper ranks fifth with a 43.3 percent clip and Owens is eighth by hitting 40.6 percent. The team is also second with 4.4 blocked shots per game and tied for fourth in steals with 8.2 per game. 

Owens continues to lead the team in scoring with 14.5 ppg, which ranks her 10th in the league. She adds 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, and is third on the team with 18 steals this season.

Cropper is up to 13.3 ppg to rank 15th in the A-10. The guard is second on the team with 4.8 rebounds and is also second with 2.7 assists per game. Cropper is up to 909 points for her career, needing just 91 more to hit the 1,000-point milestone. If she continues her current 13.3 ppg clip, she should hit that milestone in the Explorers' game on Feb. 7.

Siobhan Beslow rounds out the top three scorers with 7.4 ppg while pulling down a team-high 6.6 rebounds. She also grabs 2.6 offensive boards per game to rank seventh in the Atlantic 10, and is nearing the program top 10 in career offensive rebounds. Rookie Amy Griffin is at her heels with 7.3 ppg while adding 3.2 rpg.

Jasmine Alston continues to lead the Atlantic 10 with 2.6 steals per game. She also leads the team with 3.2 assists, while chipping in 6.1 ppg and 4.6 rpg.

Scouting the Rams
Fordham is coming off of a thrilling 65-64 overtime win against Richmond in its Atlantic 10 opener, thanks to the game-winning three-pointer from Danielle Padovano with 1.7 seconds remaining in OT. The Rams were down by seven with just 44 seconds remaining, but pulled off the stunner with a pair of traditional three-point plays from Tiffany Ruffin capped off by Padovano's triple.

The Rams entered the Atlantic 10 season with an 8-5 nonconference record. Three of those losses came to ranked or previously ranked opponents, including Syracuse, Seton Hall and Princeton. Fordham is not a high-scoring squad, averaging just 59.3 ppg; however, the squad boasts the number one scoring defense and three-point defense in the conference. The Rams yield just 53.1 ppg to opponents and limiting their foes to a paltry 24.6 percent from long range. 

The squad's defense has helped make up for the loss of last year's top two scorers, Erin Rooney (17.5 ppg) and Abigail Corning (12.4 ppg). Emily Tapio has stepped up to lead the Rams with 12.9 ppg, but is the lone Ram in double figures. Tapio is a threat with the ball as she hits 52.4 percent of her field goal attempts to rank fourth in the Atlantic 10.

Hannah Missry is second with 9.5 ppg and Tiffany Ruffin rounds out the top three with 7.6 ppg. Ruffin leads the squad with 4.0 assists per outing and chips in 5.3 rebounds.

Samantha Clark leads the Rams with 7.7 rebounds per game while chipping in 7.4 points.

Next Up
La Salle remains at home through the weekend to host George Mason on Sunday (1/11) 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
Amy Griffin

#21 Amy Griffin

G/F
6' 1"
Freshman

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
Amy Griffin

#21 Amy Griffin

6' 1"
Freshman
G/F