Women's Basketball | November 17, 2022

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The La Salle women's basketball team made the trek out west to participate in the resurgence of the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaskan Shootout for the team's first appearance in the tournament in program history.
 
The tournament, in its 39^th year, will take place in the Alaska Airlines Center and will feature host, Alaska Anchorage, alongside Pepperdine and UC Riverside. The tournament will stream live on YouTube.
 
La salle will face Pepperdine on Friday, Nov. 18 at 5:15 p.m. AST in the first round. If the Explorers win, they will face the winner of the UC Riverside/Alaska Anchorage contest in the Championship round on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. AST. In the event of a loss, La Salle will play the third-place game against either opponent at 5:15 p.m. AST on the 19^th.
 
SCOUTING THE EXPLORERS:

• The Explorers made the trip out west following their third-straight win of the season, and first at home, against Drexel on Tuesday, Nov. 15. The teams tied the game four times before a jumper from Kayla Spruill with two seconds remaining put La Salle on top, 77-74.
• Spruill led the charge the entire game scoring 24 points, just four shy of tying her career high, on 9-of-14 shooting including a 2-of-4 effort from deep and 4-of-5 from the line. She pulled down a team-high five boards alongside true freshman Mia Jacobs. Spruill is the first Explorer this season to reach 20-plus scoring.
• La Salle has now had two-straight games where four Explorers reached 10-plus points. Charity Shears, Gabby Crawford and Spruill are the only players to have recorded double-digits in three games with Spruill being the only one to record three consecutive games with 10-plus.
• The Explorers have recorded back-to-back games shooting at least 50% from the field and have either tied in rebounds or outrebounded their opponents in three of four games.
• The three-point win marks the closest margin of victory for La Salle this season. The 77 points is the second-highest scoring game thus far.

SCOUTING THE WAVES:

• Pepperdine looks to improve this season following a tough 2021-22 campaign that ended in an 8-17 record. The Waves are currently 0-2 on the season.
• The Waves return eight from its previous year's roster and welcomes six new faces to the team.
• Sophomore Ally Stedman, one of four regular starters among six, returns to the court for the Waves. She eared WCC All-Freshman Team honors last season leading the tea, with 11.0 points and 1.3 steals per game.
• Senior forward Beck Obinma averaged 7.5 points per game last season, fourth most on the team. She led the Waves in rebounds with 6.3 boards per game and in blocks with 1.7.
• Sophomore Meaali'I Amosa led the Waves last season in field goal percentage shooting 49%. She was the second-leading rebounder with 6.2 boards per game.

SCOUTING THE SEAWOLVES:

• Alaska enters the season after a 20-win season last year. The squad returns three starters and welcomes talented newcomers to the roster.
• The roster hosts five seniors led by fifth and sixth-year standouts Jahnna Hajdukovich (7.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, .378 3FG), Nicole Pinckney (7.6 ppg, 3.2 apg) and Kimani Fernandez (4.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .552 FG).
• Sharp shooter Rachel Ingram averaged 5.8 points per game last season and looks to be a threat from beyond the arc this year.

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS:

• UC Riverside looks to extend its winning momentum following a seven-game streak to end the regular season last year.
• The Highlanders returned 40 percent of their scoring and 49 percent of their rebounding this year and welcome a number of fresh faces.
• UC Riverside looks to rely on a trio of part-time starters last year due to the departure of three leading scorers.
• Matehya Bryant averaged 6.5 points per game and 5.8 boards followed by Jordan Webster with 6.3 points per game and 3.7 rebounds.
• Anna Blount looks to step up in the scoring department after averaging 5.9 points per game and 3.6 rebounds last season.

ABOUT THE MATCHUPS:

• Friday's game will be the second overall meeting between the Explorers and Pepperdine. It will be the second-straight game at a neutral location for the Explorers and the Waves. The teams last met on Dec. 20, 2018 where La Salle secured a seven-point margin of victory, 62-55.
• The Explorers have never come face-to-face with Anchorage Alaska or UC Riverside in program history.