LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – La Salle women's basketball earned a 72-44 win over the Rider Broncs Tuesday on a night where Gabby Turco led the way with 16 points, her season high.
 
The Explorers now sit at 3-2 on the season prior to their match up with the Penn Quakers next Wednesday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Both teams started the contest in a feeling-out period before the scoring broke open. Almost three minutes into the contest Rider captured the first points of the game.
• Laia Monclova has been seeing more and more court time throughout the last few games, and her first opportunity tonight did not disappoint. The freshman guard sunk a deep three to give La Salle the 7-4 lead and the Explorers didn't look back.
• Makayla Miller entered the contest and scored the team's next five points in different ways. She showed her pull-up ability, and her shot from beyond the arch in that five-point stretch.
• Another run by La Salle found them up 20-6 by the end of the first and it was driven by Gabby Turco. The junior ended the first quarter with ten points, her most in a quarter and overall this season.
• The Explorers picked up right where they left off in the start of the second scoring, being dominant on the offensive end. The scoring in the second frame came from different players including Molly Masciantonio who contributed to her season-high seven points tonight.
• La Salle was leading by 23 points at one point in the second, but ended the half up 36-17.
• The lead continued to grow in the beginning stages of the third for La Salle. Tiara Bolden contributed to the lead with consistent offensive from inside the paint as she totaled five points in the quarter.
• Fiona Connolly saw a lot of action tonight and added from deep in the third quarter taking a long-range shot and converting which put the Explorers up 55-31 at the end of the third.
• Nicole Melious remains atop the scoring leader board for the Blue & Gold and added to her total in the fourth after sinking three deep-range threes.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Turco led La Salle with 16 points tonight, a season-high for the junior.
• Miller also tallied a season-high in points against the Broncs scoring 13 points, and having a season-high three rebounds.
• Tonight, ties the season-high 28 field goals made the Explorers had against Coppin State, shooting 37.3% from the field tonight.
• The Explorers had their most successful night from the three-point range making ten throughout the course of the win, half of which came from Turco and Melious.
• Distributing the ball was a focal point on the offensive end against Rider as La Salle totaled 20 assists on the night. Masciantonio led the team with five.
• Jolene Armendariz was a force on the boards. The grad student showed her fight tonight as she pulled in 11 rebounds.

UP NEXT:

• The Explorers won't see action for eight days before they travel to the Palestra to face the Penn Quakers on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 6:00 p.m.