Women's Basketball | November 22, 2022

Box Score EASTON, Pa. – The La Salle women's basketball team trailed Lafayette by three at the end of the first frame, but double-digit efforts from Kayla Spruill and Gabby Crawford put the Explorers ahead of the Leopards in a 71-54 victory on Tuesday night.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The teams traded buckets through the first five minutes to sit knotted at 8-8 heading into the media timeout. The Leopards held a three-point advantage, 7-4, over La Salle over the remaining five minutes to take a 15-12 lead out of the first frame.
• Gabby Crawford stepped up to the line just before the second quarter media sinking both free throws to put the Explorers in the lead, 22-21. A Claire Jacobs fast break down the court to the baseline up to Spruill under the net for the bucket changed the tone and set the Explorers on a 14-5 run to take a 10-point lead into the half, 36-26.
• Lafayette tried to catch the Explorers in the third quarter with 12 points from 5-of-11 shooting and 2-of-4 from deep, but La Salle held the narrow advantage with 5-of-12 shooting including 1-of-6 from deep and 2-of-2 from the line for 13 points to take a 51-40 lead into the final frame.
• The Explorers' sharp shooting continued with a 12-6 run through the final four minutes of the frame to pull ahead by 17 points for the victory, 71-54.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Crawford and Spruill led the evening for the Explorers each recording 16 points. Spruill shot an impressive 77.8% from the field (7-of-9) and a perfect 2-of-2 from deep. Crawford put up 6-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line.
• Mia Jacobs pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.
• Emma Egan led the team in assists with five.
• La Salle pulled down a season-high 57 rebounds compared to Lafayette's 40.
• The Explorers' bench put up an impressive 50 points while the Leopards recorded 13.
• La Salle held the edge in second chance points (16-6) while Lafayette held the advantage in points in the paint (18-16).

GAME NOTES:

• Emilee Tahata and Egan both recorded their first career 3-pointers.
• Spruill has now reached 10-plus points in six consecutive contests.
• Mia Jacobs is the first Explorer to reach double-digit rebounding this season.
• The contest is La Salle's fifth game with 70-plus points this season. The team is now 4-1 when scoring 70-plus points in a game this season.
• This is La Salle's third game this season outrebounding its opponent. The Explorers are 3-0 when topping their opponent in rebounds.
• La Salle's 50 bench points and 57 rebounds both mark new season highs.
• Spruill's 77.8% shooting effort marks the first time an Explorer has shot at least 75% from the field since the graduate student did it last season against Richmond on Feb. 13.
• The Explorers' 57 rebounds marks the first time La Salle has hit 50 rebounds since Jan. 11, 2020 at Duquesne.

UP NEXT:

• The Explorers will take a short six-day hiatus before returning home to Tom Gola Arena for their first Big 5 matchup of the season against Penn on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m.