Women's Basketball | February 5, 2019

PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle women's basketball team (3-20, 0-9 A-10) is set to host Rhode Island (7-14, 2-7 A-10), for its annual kids' day game on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. with the game airing on ESPN+. Approximately 600 students from local schools will be in attendance.
 
SCOUTING THE EXPLORERS:

• La Salle has dropped its last 11 games, most recently stumbling at Davidson, 80-61. Senior Jeryn Reese and freshman Janay Sanders finished with 18 points each for new career highs. The game was a homecoming for Sanders, who grew up just a few miles from Davidson.
• As a whole, La Salle shot a season best 48.9% (22-of-45) from the floor against the Wildcats. Over the last seven games, the Explorers are shooting 41.4% from the field and 35.2% from long range. Both are far better than the season averages - 33.3% FG and 25.1 3FG.
• At least one Explorer has scored a career high in points in 10 of the last 15 games.
• The Explorers are first in the A-10 in both steals (210) and steals per game (9.1). The 210 steals have La Salle ranked 44th nationally.
• Sophomore Rayshel Brown scored 10+ points in her fifth consecutive game played after dropping 10 against the Spiders.
• Brown is the team's active leading scorer with 8.3 points per game. Reese (7.8 ppg), junior Shalina Miller (7.6 ppg) and sophomore Michelle Nicholls (7.0 ppg) are the next top scorers.
• On the glass, Miller (6.3 rpg) and Reese (6.1 rpg) are topping the team in rebounds.
• Miller is fourth in program history in blocks with 92 and is currently second in the conference in blocks (43) and blocks per game (1.9). Her 43 deflections also have Miller ranked 35th in the nation.

SCOUTING THE RAMS:

• Rhode Island enters play with a 7-14 overall record and sits at 2-7 in league play. The Rams have lost their last five games by an average of 17.4 points. Rhody's league wins came over Richmond (66-60) and Saint Louis (68-56).
• URI is averaging 61.0 points per outing, with three scorers in double figures. Elemy Colome (14.8), Nicole Jorgensen (12.3), and Davida Dale (10.4) are leading the way. Both Colome and Jorgensen have started all 21 games this season, while Davida has seen action in 18. Jorgensen leads the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage, draining 47.8% of her shots.
• Similarly, to the Explorers, the Rams are near the top of the conference in both blocks and steals. Rhode Island ranks first in both blocks (114) and blocks per game (5.4), putting the team 15^th and 14^th respectively in the nation. When it comes to steals, URI is second in the league in both steals (177) and steals per game (8.4).
• On the contrary to their success forcing turnovers, the team averages the most give ups in the conference with 19.8 per contest, which is 0.8 more than La Salle.

THE SERIES:

• The Explorers' and Rams' history dates back to 1985 when the teams first met as part of the Miami Women's Court Classic.
• In total, the schools have met 34 times, with La Salle holding a sizable advantage, 27-7.
• The Explorers opened the series with a 24-2 record through the first 26 matchups before Rhode Island held the upper hand over the last eight games with a 5-3 mark.
• La Salle's last win, both home and away, came during the 2016-17 season when the Explorers swept the Rams.