PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle women's basketball team fell by a final score of 72-53 on Wednesday night to the top-ranked team in the Atlantic 10, the Richmond Spiders.

The Explorers held the best three-point shooting team in the conference to a single make from beyond the arc, but it wasn't enough, as the Spiders took a commanding lead in the second quarter and would not look back for the remainder of the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Freshman Joan Quinn put the Explorers on the board with two early free throws, tying the game at 2-2.
• Richmond responded with second-chance points on three consecutive possessions before redshirt sophomore Ashleigh Connor and Joan Quinn knocked down back-to-back threes, trimming the deficit to 9-8.
• Graduate student Jolene Armendariz kept the Explorers within reach, burying two of three attempts from beyond the arc in the final two minutes of the first quarter. At the conclusion of the opening period, the Spiders remain in front, 21-18.
• Following a brief scoring drought to begin the second quarter, junior Ayisse Magassa got busy on the glass, converting second chance points on her fourth rebound of the contest. 
• Aside from a nifty layup by junior Ty'Renisha Bowers, the Blue and Gold failed to find an offensive rhythm, with Richmond taking a double-digit lead into the locker room at the half.
• Staying in form, Jolene Armendariz converted her third and fourth three-pointers in the third quarter. 
• Tightening the score in the final period, Quinn scored five straight points to shrink the margin to 59-46.
• Setting a new career high in a La Salle uniform, Jolene Armendariz drilled her fifth three-pointer of the game, trimming the lead to 59-49.
• Putting the game on ice in the final moments, the Spiders continued to exploit the Explorers' interior defense, pushing their total points in the paint to 62 in their ninth straight victory, 72-53.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Knocking down three-point shots on consecutive possessions twice, Armendariz made a Division 1 career-high five three-pointers in the loss. She previously made seven three-pointers while at Division 2 San Francisco State in February, 2023.
• Magassa controlled the boards once again with nine, her eighth straight game with at least four rebounds. 
• The Explorers collectively held the Spiders to season lows in three-point percentage and three-pointers made as they shot 1/16 from beyond the arc.
• On the flipside, the Explorers went 9/27 from downtown, the most they've made all season. They previously made eight against Delaware and Virginia in November.

NEXT UP

With only six regular season games remaining, the Blue and Gold will face off with the Billikens of Saint Louis on the road on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.