Henrico, VA - The La Salle women's basketball team will take on VCU in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament on Wednesday, with tip-off set for 5:00 pm.
Last Time Out
Wednesday's game will be a rematch of last Saturday's Senior Day matchup between the Explorers and Rams, with La Salle earning a 61-60 victory.
La Salle erased a double-digit deficit and tied the game with 3:08 left. The Explorers took their first lead of the second half when sophomore
Aryss Macktoon got a steal and went end-to-end for a traditional three-point play with 2:35 left to put La Salle up 59-56. A late rally by the Rams fell short, giving La Salle the victory.
La Salle In The Atlantic 10 Tournament
The Explorers are the #14 seed for the first time since 2018-19, when La Salle lost to #4 Dayton in the first round.
The Explorers' last victory over an 11-seed was in 2016-17, where they defeated #11 St. Bonaventure 73-70 in the first round as a #6 seed.
La Salle has never played against VCU in the conference tournament.
Quinn Earns All-Rookie Honors
Freshman
Joan Quinn of the La Salle women's basketball team earned a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team, the league announced on Tuesday.
Quinn is the eighth Explorer in program history to earn a spot on the A-10's All-Rookie team and first since Claire Jacobs in 2019-20.
The Newtown Square native finished the regular season with the second-most points on the team and averages 9.1 points per game and 2.2 assists per game going into the A-10 tournament.
Quinn has started 24 games this season while appearing in all 31 games and has scored in double figures 12 times this season. In January, Quinn led the Explorers with 14 points per game against Massachusetts and George Mason for her first-ever Rookie of the Week honor before having two consecutive 20-point performances against Saint Joseph's and St. Bonaventure.
Stealing The Ball
La Salle ranks 73
rd nationally with 9.5 steals per game, which is good for third in the Atlantic 10. Despite missing significant time due to injury, sophomore
Aryss Macktoon ranks third in the league with 64 on the season.
Macktoon had five steals against Fordham a week ago and recorded a career-high eight steals against VCU. Macktoon also tied a season-high in rebounds (9) and assists (4), and played all 40 minutes for the first time in her collegiate career while scoring 18 points against the Rams.
The Series
VCU leads the all-time series between the two teams 10-5 and swept the regular season series against the Explorers a year ago.
Connor Leads The Way
Redshirt sophomore
Ashleigh Connor is La Salle's leading scorer at 11.3 points per game. Connor has scored in double figures 17 times this season and is also the Explorers' leading rebounder at 4.1 rebounds per game.
Scouting The Rams
VCU enters Saturday's game with a 12-18 overall record and has lost three straight games going into Wednesday's game. The Rams finished the regular season with a 6-12 mark in Atlantic 10 action.
Consistency Is Key
Junior
Ayisse Magassa is the lone Explorer to start all 30 games this season. Magassa leads the team in offensive rebounds with 62. Additionally, she leads the Blue and Gold in field goal percentage at 44.5%.
Crashing The Boards
La Salle averages 12.8 offensive rebounds per game, which is 78
th nationally.
The Magic Formula
The Explorers are 4-1 on the season when allowing fewer than 55 points. La Salle is 6-1 on the season when scoring 65 or more points.
Next Up
The Winner of Wednesday's game will take on #6 Dayton in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Thursday at 7:30 pm.
