PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle women's basketball team (6-9, 0-2 A-10) fell to Saint Louis (9-6, 1-1 A-10) on Wednesday night. Freshman Claire Jacobs was a catalyst off the bench for the Explorers, dropping a team-high 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Senior Shalina Miller chipped in on both ends of the court with 13 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Saint Louis started hot with an 13-6 lead, doused by a three from sophomore Kayla Spruill that trimmed the Billikens' advantage. Six unanswered points from the visitors followed, parried by La Salle with six of its own, including four points from freshman Jordon Lewis.  Saint Louis regained some breathing room with a three to end the quarter.
• The second quarter began as a back-and-forth affair before Saint Louis managed to rattle off nine points, putting it up 35-19. La Salle had gained some ground in the final moments of the half after a three from freshman Amy Jacobs cut the deficit to 42-29. A jumper from Saint Louis with a few ticks left pushed that lead back to 15.
• A three pointer from junior Kate Hill began the third, signifying La Salle's offensive intent coming out of the break. That kick started a 14-4 run for the home side powered by nine points from C. Jacobs. The Billikens bounced back to close out the period on a 14-6 jaunt.
• Just like the previous quarter, the final frame began with a La Salle three, this time from the hands of A. Jacobs. Unlike the third, Saint Louis answered defiantly with a 10-4 stretch to go up 72-56. The remainder of the game played out to a 5-5 stalemate.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Explorers offense flowed through Lewis, Spruill and A. Jacobs in the first quarter. The trio combined for 13 of La Salle's 15 points.
• Collectively, La Salle shot a season best 89.5% from the charity stripe.
• Miller was the offensive focal point in the second frame, accounting for six points on 2-of-4 shooting. She also hauled in four rebounds and two rejections.
• The third quarter belonged to C. Jacobs, who dropped 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including a pair of three pointers.
• Overall, the Jacobs twins, Miller and Spruill all finished in double-figures for the night, accounting for 51 of the team's 62 points. The quartet shot 38.6% from the field and a combined 13-of-15 from the foul line.

GAME NOTES:

• With her pair of blocks in the game, Miller came ever closer to breaking the program's all-time record of 151 set by Amy Griffin '81. La Salle's number 25 now needs one to tie and two to move into first.
• K. Hill entered the game with a conference-leading 2.55 assist-to-turnover ratio. Against the Billikens, she continued to distribute the rock responsibly with seven assists to two turnovers.

UP NEXT:
The Explorers hit the road for a week with games at Duquesne on Saturday and UMass next Wednesday.