Women's Basketball | January 22, 2022

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The La Salle women's basketball team returns to Tom Gola Arena for a Sunday afternoon showdown against the Richmond Spiders in a specially dedicated Explorers vs. Pediatric Cancer contest at 2 p.m.
 
The Explorers have partnered with the B+ foundation to raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer. The game has been dedicated to head coach Mountain MacGillivray's daughter, Emily, who is currently in the fight against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
 
SCOUTING THE EXPLORERS:

• The Explorers come back to Philadelphia just two days after taking on George Mason in a Friday night clash in Fairfax Virginia. La Salle trailed multiple times throughout the first half of play, but put together a second-half comeback to take down the Patriots 63-53. The fourth quarter was the difference-maker with the Explorers totaling 21 points shooting 50.0% overall, 57.1% from deep and 62.5% from the line in the final frame.
• Kayla Spruill continues to lead the charge for the Explorers. The senior knocked down a total of four threes on the night. She contributed a team-high 20 points and eight boards. Spruill is currently second in the A-10 in 3-point field goal percentage shooting 45.2% (33-of-73) this season. She has recorded four 20-plus point performances this season and has sunk at least one 3-pointer in 14 games.
• Gabby Crawford is averaging double-digits for the Explorers (13.2). She put up 11 points on 3-of-6 overall and 5-of-6 from the line in the game against Mason. The junior has scored 10-plus in four of her fives contests played this season.
• Amy Jacobs has provided solid defense for the Explorers on the court. She pulled down five boards against the Patriots and has recorded at least one block in the last three games.
• Claire Jacobs is nearing the 1,000-point milestone in her career. She has 993career-points and is just seven points shy of 1,000. The junior reached the 100-point mark this season following her 23-point effort against St. John's.
• As a squad La Salle is shooting 36.9% overall, 30.8% from deep and 79.4% from the line.
• La Salle currently ranks second in the league for 3-pointer per game made averaging 8.5. The Explorers continue to lead the conference in free throw percentage.

SCOUTING THE SPIDERS:

• The Spiders come to La Salle fresh off a 78-64 road win at George Mason on Wednesday. Four Spiders scored in double figures.
• Addie Budnik led all Richmond Scorers in the contest against the Patriots with her second-straight 20+ point effort. She finished with 21 points. Budnik leads the Spiders in scoring this season with 14.1 points per game.
• Richmond currently leads the conference in scoring offense with 73.7 points per game and ranks fourth in scoring margin (+8.2). The Spiders are also leading the league in field goal percentage (.451) and 3-pointers per game (9.7).
• The Spiders sit second to the Explorers in the conference standings for free throw percentage shooting 75.2% from the line.  
• Grace Townsend is tied for the individual league-lead in assists per game averaging 5.4

SERIES HISTORY:

• Richmond leads the all-time series 7-24 with the Explorers recording five of their victories at home. La Salle enters the contest having lost the last seven-straight against the Spiders. The Explorers have only lost by a margin of six or less in the last four contests between the teams.
• The teams last met in Virginia on Feb. 20, 2021. The Spiders held the edge over La Salle through the first three frames. The Explorers had the advantage in the final stanza 25-21, but the comeback bid was too late.
• Claire Jacobs led for the Explorers ending the night with 21 points on 7-of-16 overall, 3-of-5 from deep and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line.