Women's Basketball | February 21, 2023

DAYTON, Ohio – The La Salle women's basketball team will close out its final road game of the regular season against Dayton this Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+.

SCOUTING THE EXPLORERS:

• La Salle enters the contest at 16-12 overall and 7-6 in Atlantic 10 play. The Explorers most recently dropped the contest to Saint Louis, 74-63, on Sunday afternoon.
• The Explorers led through the majority of the game, but a fourth-quarter surge from the Billikens pushed them ahead for the 11-point win. The loss puts La Salle at seventh in the Atlantic 10 rankings.
• La Salle ranks second in the conference and 76^th nationally in steals per game averaging 9.07 steals led by point guard Molly Masciantonio who ranks sixth in the league with 2.0 stelas per game. The graduate student ranks first in the nation in assist to turnover ratio with a mark of 4.35. She has totaled 16 games with one or zero turnovers this season. Averaging 4.3 assists per game, the point guard ranks 77^th in the nation and seventh in the league. s
• The contest with Saint Louis marks the first time this season where La Salle has dropped the contest when leading at the half. Prior to the game the Explorers were 13-0 when holding the advantage after the first 20 minutes.
• Kayla Spruill led the scoring efforts for the Explorers in the contest with a team-high 15 points while also adding nine boards. Her double-digit performance marks her third-straight and 16^th total this season. Spruill recently broke the program 3-point record of 208 and has since extended the mark to 215.
• The Explorers live and die by the three ranking 13^th in the nation and first in the conference in three-point attempts per game averaging 26.5 threes per contest.
• Charity Shears put up 14 points in the game to tie her season high. The contest marked her 10^th this season in double digits.
• The Explorers shot 100% from the line in the contest sinking 7-of-7. La Salle ranks 92^nd nationally and eighth in the conference in free throw percentage shooting 73.8% from the line this season. Mia Jacobs leads the free throw shooting for La Salle ranking 88^th nationally and third in the conference shooting 83% from the charity stripe. As a team, the Explorers have shot 100% from the line in three contests this season.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS:

• Dayton enters the contest at 5-19 on the season and 4-9 in conference play. The Flyers enter the contest after a week off last facing VCU on the road claiming the 70-65 victory over the Rams to snap a two-game skid.
• The Flyers are 2-10 when playing at UD Arena this season with its only home conference win coming against Davidson on Jan. 11.
• Dayton is lead by head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter in her first season with the Flyers joining the program after a year at Wittenberg.
• The Flyers are averaging 65.7 points per game this season while giving up 70.8 points to their opponents.
• Dayton is led by seniors Mariah Perez with 11.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, and Sydney Freeman with 10.6 points and 4.4 assists per game.
• Sophomore Arianna Smith is averaging double-digits with 10.0 points per game and 8.5 boards per contest.
• Dayton ranks 26^th nationally in rebounds per game, 39^th in defensive rebounding, and 46^th in three-point percentage.
• Perez is 15^th in the country in offensive rebounds per game, 38^th in total rebounding and 43^rd in double-doubles.

SERIES HISTORY:

• The Explorers trail the all-time series with Dayton 16-26. The Flyers hold a 12-7 edge over La Salle when hosting them in Ohio.
• La Salle enters the contest on a seven-game skid in the all-time series looking for its first win over the Flyers on the road since its three-point victory, 54-51, on Dec. 12, 2016.
• Amy Jacobs led the last contest between the Explorers and Flyers as the only player to end the game in double-figures for La Salle with 10 points.