PHILADELPHIA – A dominant fourth quarter by the La Salle women's basketball team (8-7, 4-4 A-10) pushed the Explorers past George Mason (3-10, 0-5 A-10), 56-49 Sunday afternoon for the teams third-straight win. La Salle has now won five of its last six games.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Mason held a one-point advantage through the first 5:09 of the game at the media stoppage. The Patriots had a 10-6 lead after the first as they kept La Salle scoreless through the final 6:02 of the period.
- The teams traded the first 20 points of the second stanza with 10 apiece for a visitor's 20-16 lead with 4:09 left to play. Over the remainder of the half, each team scored three points for a Mason 23-19 lead at the break.
- Mason continued to strengthen its lead with a 7-6 margin through the first 5:10 of the third to go up 30-25. Both teams picked up the pace offensively with the Patriots outscoring the Explorers, 12-10 through the end of the period.
- George Mason jumped out to its largest lead of the game at 11 points after a 7-3 spurt over the first 3:21. The span held the Blue & Gold scoreless for the last 2:39 of the run. La Salle flipped a switch over the final 6:50 as it outscored Mason 18-0 to conclude the game with the victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Sophomore Claire Jacobs finished with 19 points to lead the Explorers.
- Junior Kayla Spruill dropped 11 points and corralled five rebounds.
- Senior Haleigh Hill registered eight points and eight rebounds.
- Senior Deja King added nine points off the bench.
- Senior Kate Hill handed out seven assists to just one turnover to increase her league leading assist to turnover ratio.
- La Salle shot 30.6% from the floor, 29.3% from deep, and 60.0% from the line.
- The Blue & Gold claimed the turnover battle 10 to 22, but lost the rebounding margin 57-33.
GAME NOTES:
- La Salle is over .500 after 15 games for the first time since 2016-17.
- Jacobs has recorded 15 points or more in nine of her 14 games this season, including 10+ in her last eight.
- Mason's seven points in the fourth quarter are the least allowed by La Salle in a fourth period this season and second least in any quarter overall.
UP NEXT:
The Explorers head on the road for a weekend series at Rhode Island and UMass.