Women's Basketball | November 10, 2022

Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The La Salle women's basketball team started the scoring with a three pointer from Kayla Spruill and never looked back defeating Sacred Heart in a definitive 69-48 victory on Thursday night.  

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• La Salle got off to a hot start with a 9-0 run over a 3:26 period to take an 11-point lead, 12-1. Sacred Heart responded with four unanswered points to close the gap, 12-5. Fiona Connolly stepped up to the plate with a deep ball to give the Explorers a 10-point lead, 15-5, with 2:17 to go. With the score at 17-7 the Pioneers went to work, but a Mia Jacobs steal followed by a fastbreak layup in the paint put the Explorers up 19-7 to end the frame.
• The Pioneers came into the second quarter strong with a 6-0 run through the 7:02 mark. La Salle took a 9-2 performance into the media to regain a 13-point lead, 28-5. The Explorers held the narrow 7-6 edge over Sacred Heart through the remaining minutes to take 35-21 lead into the half.
• La Salle extended its lead to 20 points in the first minute of the third frame thanks to back-to-back threes from Molly Masciantonio and Spruill. The Pioneers put up two of their own, but an Amy Jacobs layup paired with a Charity Shears three gave La Salle another five, 46-23, to force a Sacred Heart timeout. The squads remained even out of the break until the 2:44 mark when Sacred Heart mounte da 5-0 run, 51-33. The Explorers held on again with the 8-6 edge thanks to two more deep balls from Shears to come out of the third quarter with a 22-point lead, 58-36.
• A 5-1 run for the Pioneers through the first two minutes a La Salle timeout to regroup. The Explorers took a 10-5 run out of the timeout through the rest of the game with six points coming from the line for the 69-48 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Shears was the sharp shooter of the night going 4-of-7 from deep for a team-high 12 points. All four 3-pointers came in the fourth quarter for the fifth-year.
• Masciantonio ended the night in double-figures with 11 points from 4-of-6 shooting including 2-of-3 from deep and 1-of-4 from the line.
• Spruill recorded her first game of the season in double-digits securing two points from the field and 10 from beyond the arc for 11 points.
• Emma Egan led the rebounding effort for La Salle with six boards. Amy Jacobs recorded her second-straight game with five rebounds.
• Claire Jacobs was strong on defense with a team-high three blocks.
• La Salle outshot the Pioneers from the field, 42.9%-33.3%, and from the 3-point range, 42.3%-20%. The Explorers went 11-of-26 from beyond the arc with 6-of-8 coming in the third quarter alone.
• The Explorers held the advantage in points in the paint, 26-24, second chance points, 7-0, fast breaks, 15-8, and points off the bench, 28-26.

GAME NOTES:

• The Explorers continue to lead the all-time series against Sacred Heart, 5-0.
• La Salle is now 3-1 in the game following a loss in the season-opener under head coach Mountain MacGillivray's tenure.
• Emilee Tahata saw action for the first time in the Blue & Gold.
• All players on the bench recorded minutes in the game.
• The victory is just seven points shy of tying the Explorers' largest margin of victory over the Pioneers, 28 points, set last season on Dec. 18.

UP NEXT:

• The Explorers keep trekking north to face Niagara on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 5 p.m.