PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Four scorers dropped double figure point totals, led by freshman Shayla Sweeney, as the La Salle women's basketball team (3-9) took down Pepperdine (5-4), 62-55, Thursday night.
 
The Explorers have won three of their last four games, including back-to-back games, for the first time since early last season when La Salle won the Christmas City Classic hosted by Lehigh.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Pepperdine opened the game on a 10-6 run before the media timeout was called at 3:35. The remainder of the frame was a defensive battle with only one basket being scored. Pepperdine held the lead, 12-6.
• The second quarter started with a slim run by La Salle, 9-7, before Pepperdine called a timeout at 5:02. La Salle ended the second stanza on an 8-4 run with Sweeney scoring five of the team's points. Defensively, the Explorers held the Waves 1-of-5 from the floor.
• La Salle started the third period on a 5-0 spurt before Pepperdine took a 5-0 run of its own until the media timeout at 4:16. The Explorers won the battle the rest of the quarter, outscoring the Waves 11-8.
• Pepperdine established a 10-6 run over the first 5:19 before the media timeout was called in the final quarter. La Salle answered with a 16-9 spurt to end the game. The Explorers remained poised throughout the final minutes of the game, shooting 92.3% (12-of-13) from the free throw line in the quarter.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Sweeney finished with a career high 14 points on the night, while shooting 5-of-7 from the charity stripe.
• She was joined in double figures by junior Shalina Miller (11 pts.), senior Jeryn Reese (10 pts.), and sophomore Deja King (10 pts.).
• As a whole, the team shot 36.7% (18-of-49) from the floor, including 31.3% (5-of-16) from long range.
• From the line, the Explorers shot 80.8% (21-of-26), which is their third highest total on the season.
• On the glass, both Reese (8 rbs.) and King (7 rbs.) neared double-doubles.

GAME NOTES:

• La Salle has shot 36.7% or better from the field and 31.0% or better from long range in each of the last four games.
• The team matched its season high 39 points in a half in the second half of the game.
• After finishing +1 against Pepperdine, the Explorers have won the turnover battle in six of their last seven games for a combined margin of +41.
• King's seven rebounds is a career high.

UP NEXT:
La Salle finishes the Friar Holiday Classic on Friday when it takes on Providence at 2:30 p.m. The Explorers look to push their win streak to three games to claim the tournament title.