Women's Basketball | February 25, 2022

 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The La Salle women's basketball team is riding the momentum from a big final win at home on Wednesday night as the team prepares to take on its final opponent of the regular season, George Washington. The teams will meet tomorrow, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. at the Charles E. Smith Center. This will be the first meeting between the two squads.
 
SCOUTING THE EXPLORERS:

• La Salle (15-11, 8-6 A10) hits the road for its final game before the Atlantic 10 Tournament following a nail-biting 67-66 victory over Duquesne at home in Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday.
• The teams remained neck-in-neck through most of the contest with La Salle pulling ahead by as many as 10 in the third frame with the Dukes making a quick comeback to keep the contest close. The final 19 minutes saw two lead changes highlighted by a put-back jumper by Claire Jacobs as time ran out to secure the victory for the Explorers.
• The Explorers are second in the conference in free throw percentage shooting 75.7% from the line this season. La Salle has won the turnover battle in 19 of its contests, including the last seven straight, this season and currently sits first in the league in turnover margin (2.85). The squad ranks fourth in assists averaging 14.42 per game.
• Kayla Spruill recorded her 20th game in double figures this season including her seventh-straight. Spruill went 7-of-10 from the field including 2-of-4 from deep and 1-of-1 from the line. She currently leads the conference and ranks third in the nation for her performance from beyond the arc shooting 47.2%. 
• Claire Jacobs put together her 11th game, third-straight, in double figures with 16 points including the game-winning second-chance bucket with two tenths of a second remaining in the game. Jacobs ranks 12th in the league in 3-point shooting, 36%.
• Molly Masciantonio continues to be the leading helping hand for the Explorers averaging 4.7 assists per game. She currently ranks second in the league and 20th in the nation in assist to turnover ratio (2.42). She set a new season-high for scoring in the game against Duquesne with 13 points. The senior's key steal in the 19th second of the contest proved to be a game-changing play and swung the momentum in favor of the Explorers.
• Gabby Crawford recorded 12 points in the contest against Duquesne. She led the rebound effort with a team-high six. The junior is currently averaging 11.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING THE COLONIALS:

• George Washington (11-16, 4-10 A10) enters the contest following back-to-back losses on the road at Saint Joseph's and Davidson.
• Mayowa Taiwo recorded a double-double in the game against Davidson on Wednesday with 15 points and 11 rebounds. It marked her fourth double-double of the season and second in the last three games. She is now tied for 15th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game and is first in the league. Taiwao is averaging four offensive boards per contest and 8.5 rebounds overall, fourth in the A-10.
• GW has struggled from the charity stripe shooting just 11-of-35 (35%) in the last two games. The Colonials were shooting 57% during their four-game win streak recently. The team has 10 wins when shooting at least 50% from the line.
• No Colonials are averaging points in the double-digits. Sheslanie Laureano leads the scoring effort with 8.5 points per game. Followed by Taiwo with 8.2 points per game. Laureano also leads the squad in steals (35) and blocks (17).

SERIES HISTORY:

• The Explorers trail the all-time series 7-37 against the Colonials. Currently, La Salle has won the last two straight against GW including one at home and one on the road.
• A victory would mark the first time that La Salle has won three-straight in the series against GW.
• The two teams last met in Tom Gola Arena last season. The Explorers' 60-45 victory over the Colonials was paced by a team-high 23 points from Kayla Spruill.