Women's Basketball | January 31, 2023

RICHMOND, Va. – The La Salle women's basketball team will travel to VCU to look not only for its sixth-straight win in Atlantic 10 play, but its first victory against the Rams since 2018. The morning matchup will tipoff at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb.1. The game will stream live on ESPN+.

SCOUTING THE EXPLORERS:

• The Explorers enters the contest at 14-8 overall and 5-2 in Atlantic 10 play having won its last five consecutive games marking the first time the Explorers have won five-straight conference games since the 2016-17 season.
• La Salle comes into the game against VCU after most recently defeating St. Bonaventure at home in Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center in a 65-52 victory despite shooting its lowest percentage from the field in a game this season, 29.4%.
• The difference came on the defensive end with La Salle winning the turnover battle 19-12 and the fight at the boards 48-37. The contest marks just the eighth time La Salle has outrebounded its opponent this season. The Explorers are 7-1 when holding the advantage at the boards.
• The Explorers are now 11-0 when leading its opponent at the half having yet to concede a victory when holding the advantage after 20 minutes. La Salle is also 5-0 when keeping its opponent to between 50-59 points in the game.
• Claire Jacobs, Mia Jacobs and Charity Shears all ended the game in double-digits marking the 13^th time this season at least three Explorers have reached 10-plus points in a game. The game also marked the sixth conference game where at least three Explorers have hit the mark.
• Claire Jacobs led the way with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, 4-of-7 from the long range and 3-of-4 from the line. The game marked the senior's 17^th in double figures this season including the last four straight. It was also her fourth 20-point game of the season. Not only is she one of only two Explorers to record 20 points in a game this season, she has now recorded more games with 20-plus points than anyone else on the roster. The contest also marked her fourth game sinking four threes this season.
• Mia Jacobs recorded a new career-high in the contest with 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting including 3-of-6 from the beyond the arc and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. She has now recorded 10 games with 10-plus points including the last six-straight games.
• Molly Masciantonio has been a crucial part of the Explorers offense this season. The point guard holds a 3.95 assist/turnover ratio ranking first in the nation. She leads the team in assists averaging 4.71 per game. She has not given up more than two turnovers in a game this season and has had 10 games with one or no turnovers.

SCOUTING THE RAMS:

• VCU enters the contest at 6-14 on the season and 3-5 in A-10 play. The Rams recently snapped a three-game skid with a victory over Loyola Chicago this weekend.
• Chloe Bloom led the offense for the Rams with a career-high 19 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Janika Griffith-Wallace added 12 points in the game and a season-high five assists.
• The Rams may enter the contest without their leading scorer, Sarah Te-Biasu, who missed the last contest due to injury. Te-Baisu is averaging 16.1 points per game and 2.5 steals per game ranking 115^th nationally. In A-10 play she is averaging 20.0 points through six games and has scored 20 points in four of the seven games. She hasn't scored less than 12 points in any conference contest she has seen action in this season.

SERIES HISTORY:

• The Explorers trail in the all-time series against the Rams 3-7 having only defeated VCU on its home court once in series history.
• La Salle looks to snap its four-game skid in the series having not won a game against the Rams dating back to Jan. 2018.
• The Explorers have not beaten VCU on the road since Jan. 31, 2015 where the squad recorded its largest margin of victory in the series, nine, in a 74-62 win.
• Kayla Spruill led the charge the last time out against the Rams as the only Explorer to reach double digits in the game totaling 18 points.