PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The La Salle women's basketball team trailed Penn by six at the end of the third quarter, but a 26-6 scoring effort in the fourth comprised of 11 points from senior Kayla Spruill pushed the Explorers to victory over the Quakers, 63-49.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Trailing by two points through the first six minutes Spruill denied the Penn layup allowing Molly Masciantonio to find Claire Jacobs down court for the 3-point bucket to put the Explorers in the lead, 8-4. Penn went on a 7-1 run through the final minutes of the frame to take an 11-9 lead over the Explorers. As the clock ticked down to zero, Kenya Cote-Lysius hit the basket from deep to put La Salle back up by one at the end of the frame, 12-11.
• La Salle pulled ahead by as many as four six minutes into the second frame with a 3-point jumper from Jordon Lewis. But, it was Penn who came out on top at the end of the first half holding the 17-14 advantage over the Explorers in the quarter for the 28-26 lead.
• The Quakers held the 15-11 advantage over La Salle in the third frame stopping the Explorers 3-point game to maintain a six-point lead, 43-37, over La Salle heading into the final frame.
• The Explorers broke open the scoring in the fourth quarter with Masciantonio setting the tone with back-to-back three pointers. La Salle held the Quakers to just six points and scored 26 points of its own in the frame including 11 from Spruill on 3-of-3 from the field, 1-of-1 from deep and 4-of-4 from the line.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Spruill paced the Explorers with a team-high 17 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter alone. Spruill pulled down a team-high nine boards.
• Masciantonio and Cote-Lysius each added nine points for the night. Masciantonio also led the Explorers in assists with six of eight.
• Penn won the turnover battle committing just 13 to La Salle's 21. The Quakers also out rebounded the Explorers 48-32.
• La Salle topped Penn in points off the bench, 20-7.
• The Explorers dominated from the free throw line shooting 13-of-15 (.867) on the night.

GAME NOTES:

• Spruill's double-digit scoring effort marks her fifth this year. She set a new season-high in free throws made and attempted. She is the first Explorer to shoot 100% (minimum five attempts) from the free throw line this season. The senior was the last to do it for the Explorers going 6-for-6 on Jan. 15, 2021 at St. Bonaventure.
• Masciantonio tied her season-high in points with nine, last reached on the road at Drexel on Nov. 17. She has now tied her season-high assists total for the fourth time.
• Cote-Lysius recorded a new career-high in points with nine in the game. She also set a new career-high in field goals made with four.
• The 13 steals for the Explorers marks the most in a contest this season.
• The victory marks the first road win and Big Five contest victory for La Salle this season. The Explorers are now 1-2 on the road and 1-0 in the Big Five.

UP NEXT:

• La Salle wraps up its three-game road series on Saturday, Dec. 4 as the squad heads to Loretto, Pennsylvania to take on St. Francis. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.