PHILADELPHIA – For the first time ever, the La Salle women's basketball team (11-14, 5-7 A-10) swept the Saint Joseph's Hawks (8-16, 2-10 A-10) in the regular season after Sunday's 59-53 victory at Hagan Arena. Sunday's win also marks the first victory over SJU on the road since 1998.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• La Salle started on a 7-0 run before the Hawks found the scoreboard. The home squad chipped away at the early lead with a 7-3 spurt up to the media break at 4:14. The Blue & Gold ended the period on top 13-9 with six points from freshman Amy Jacobs.
• The Explorers bolstered their lead to begin the second period with a 9-3 run over 2:38 that ended with a SJU timeout. The Hawks cut the deficit by two with a 14-12 advantage to end the period.
• La Salle pushed the lead to 10 over the first few minutes of the third stanza, before SJU cut it to seven with 4:50 left. The Hawks continued to slash away at the La Salle lead, ending the frame down four – 44-40.
• The Hawks pulled within two on multiple occasions over the first 5:14 of the fourth quarter, however the La Salle defense buckled down. The Blue & Gold were able to go back on top by four at the midway point. La Salle held steady to seal the victory after it outscored the Hawks 9-7.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• La Salle outshot the Hawks from the floor at 43.5%.
• Rookie Claire Jacobs led all scorers with 18 points on an impressive day from the field. Jacobs shot 7-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the stripe with 14 points in the second half. She added five rebounds, three steals, two blocks, and an assist to her line.
• A. Jacobs finished with 11 points, going 4-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from three-point range.
• Sophomore Kayla Spruill registered 10 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.

GAME NOTES:

• La Salle beat St. Joe's twice during the 1996 season; however, the second game was during the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
• The Explorers move to 9-4 when scoring first and 8-1 when leading at halftime.
• The Blue & Gold are 5-0 on the year when holding opponents below 60 points.                
• The trio of C. Jacobs, Spruill, and A. Jacobs each scored in double figures for the second game in a row.
• C. Jacobs steals and blocks are new career bests for her.
• Spruill hit career marks in assists and blocks.

UP NEXT:
La Salle returns home to Tom Gola Arena for a Wednesday matchup against VCU at 5 p.m. The game is part of a La Salle basketball doubleheader as the men play at 8 p.m.