PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – After a low-scoring first quarter that put VCU in a two-point lead, the shots began falling for the La Salle women's basketball team to put the team in a lead it wouldn't relinquish defeating the Rams 55-51 to end the regular season on Saturday afternoon.
La Salle finishes the regular season with an overall record of 17-13 and an Atlantic 10 mark of 8-7. VCU falls to 7-21 overall and 4-12 in conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- After an almost two-minute scoreless start, VCU was the first on the board pulling ahead 4-0 with Kayla Spruill putting up five points for the Explorers after nearly five minutes to cut the deficit to three, 8-5, heading into the media. La Salle held the 2-1 edge in the final minutes to cut the deficit to two, 9-7, at the end of the first.
- Spruill put up another layup to single-handedly tie the game, 9-9. A seven-point effort from Mia Jacobs ensued over the next four minutes to give the Explorers their first lead of the game, 16-15. Amy Jacobs followed it up with a three ball to put La Salle ahead 19-15 with just under five minutes to play in the half. La Salle held the 7-5 advantage through the rest of the quarter to take a six-point lead into the second half, 26-20.
- La Salle opened up the second half with a quick 5-0 spurt to pull ahead by 11-points, its largest lead yet, 31-20. VCU responded with an 11-3 run to cut the lead down to three, 34-31, and force a timeout from the Explorers with 4:35 remaining. The Rams came out of the break with an 6-0 run to pull ahead 37-35. Molly Masciantonio came up big converting the three to put the Explorers back on top, 38-37. The Explorers put up two more points from the foul line to take a three-point advantage into the final quarter, 40-37.
- VCU tried to close the gap bringing it within one, 43-42, with 6:06 to go. Claire Jacobs put up four unanswered points to follow to create a five-point edge for the Explorers, 47-42. The Rams built up a comeback coming within one again, 49-48, with Claire Jacobs answering the call with another driving layup to put La Salle ahead again, 51-48, with 1:33 remaining. The Explorers held off the Rams allowing just three more points for the 55-51 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Claire Jacobs led the scoring effort as the only Explorer to end the game in double digits with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting including 1-of-5 from three and 4-of-5 from the foul line.
- Spruill served as the second-leading scorer in the game with an early nine points to start the Explorers' scoring momentum. She shot 4-of-12 from the field with 1-of-7 from deep.
- Mia Jacobs led the rebounding effort with a team-high seven boards. She added seven points in the game.
- Masciantonio put up a team-high four assists while committing zero turnovers and adding a team-high two steals.
- The Explorers held the edge in three-point shooting 22.7%-0%.
- VCU won the battle at the boards 41-33.
GAME NOTES:
- La Salle improves to 4-8 in the all-time series against VCU and is now 3-3 when hosting the Rams.
- Claire Jacobs' 19-point performance marks her fifth consecutive double-digit scoring effort and 18th overall this season.
- Masciantonio has now improved to 18 games this season with one or zero turnovers.
- La Salle's 8-7 mark in A-10 play marks the first time the Explorers have had back-to-back winning seasons in conference play since the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons.
- The Explorers' 17 wins this season marks the first time La Salle has had back-to-back seasons with 16 or more wins since the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons.
UP NEXT:
- The Explorers will head to the Atlantic 10 Tournament at the CHASE Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Mar. 1 through Sunday, Mar. 5.
