PHILADELPHIA – Sophomore Kayla Spruill dropped a game-high 24 points and freshman Claire Jacobs added 21 as La Salle women's basketball (8-12, 2-5 A-10, 1-3 Big 5) defeated Saint Joseph's (8-11, 2-5 A-10 1-3 Big 5), 67-59 on Sunday afternoon. The Explorers never trailed in a contest that resulted in the largest margin of victory over the Hawks since a 65-50 triumph in 2006. It's also head coach Mountain MacGillivray's first Big 5 win at the helm of the Explorers.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After an initial stalemate, the Explorers opened the scoring with a C. Jacobs three at the 7:43 mark. The home side claimed five of the next seven points to push the lead to 8-2. La Salle remained in front, edging the Hawks 7-6 for the rest of the quarter. Spruill tallied the final five points of the frame for the hosts and led all players in points (seven) and rebounds (four).
• C. Jacobs and Spruill combined for the first five points of the second quarter. La Salle's defense continued to impress, not allowing a Saint Joseph's point until 5:34. At that point, the visitors tallied five straight points to close their deficit to 20-13. The Explorers countered across the remainder of the half with an 11-7 advantage to push their lead to 31-20. C. Jacobs and Spruill powered the team on the offensive end in the first half, combining for 22 of the side's 31 points. The pair shot 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-7 from deep.
• Saint Joseph's started the third on the front foot with a 7-2 run, which La Salle answered with nine unanswered points. The Blue & Gold stayed in front of the Hawks, finishing the quarter by narrowly outscoring them 14-13 with Spruill accounting for 10 points over that stretch. Spruill continued to impress out of the break with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the third quarter.
• The visitors began the fourth quarter strongly, scoring six straight. C. Jacobs hit a jumper to push the lead to 58-46, followed by five unanswered points from the Hawks. The home team prevented any comeback from occurring by edging its opponent 9-8 down the stretch. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• As a team, the Explorers out-rebounded the Hawks 48-36, especially on the defensive end (31-17). They finished with nine blocks to Saint Joseph's zero.
• Spruill added 12 rebounds to her line for her second double-double of the season. La Salle's number 15 was a model of efficiency, going 7-of-11 from the floor, 4-of-6 from deep, and a perfect 6-of-6 from the stripe.
• Senior Shalina Miller, fresh off of becoming La Salle's all-time blocks leader, tied her career-high in rejections with six and corralled 10 rebounds.\
• Junior Kate Hill led all players with six assists and snagged a career best five boards. 
• Rookie Jordon Lewis accounted for seven points and seven rebounds.  Five her her points came in the final quarter.

GAME NOTES:

• Spruill extended her double-digit scoring streak to eight games. That's the longest streak by an Explorer since Amy Griffin recorded 26 straight games in the 2016-17 season.
• Additionally, Spruill now has three straight games with 15-plus points.
• C. Jacobs continued to score in volume this season with nine games with at least 15 points.
• Speaking of Spruill and C. Jacobs, La Salle finished with two players tallying 20 points for the first time since March 6th, 2014.
• La Salle is 5-0 when leading at halftime and 6-3 when scoring first.
• The win over Saint Joseph's snaps a seven-game losing streak to the rivals on Hawk Hill.
• The eight points for Saint Joseph's in the first period was the lowest amount La Salle has allowed all season in the first.
• The 20 points allowed by the Explorers through two quarters is the lowest conceded in any half this season.

UP NEXT:
La Salle will aim for its third-straight home victory when it hosts George Mason on Wednesday as part of a La Salle basketball doubleheader. Opening tip is at 5 p.m. with the game airing live on ESPN+.