Women’s basketball returns home to take on Lehigh in the Explorers vs. Pediatric Cancer – La Salle University Athletics

Women’s basketball | December 2, 2022

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania – The La Salle women’s basketball team will play their second consecutive game at Tom Gola Arena this Saturday, December 3 against Lehigh. Tipping is set at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The Explorers Against Pediatric Cancer game, in its second year, is partnering with La Salle Explorathon and the B+ Foundation in the fight against pediatric cancer. Competition honors head coach MacGillivray Mountain‘s daughter, Emily, in her own fight. Fans will have the opportunity to participate in a 50/50 raffle with proceeds going to the B+ Foundation. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to receive their #ClimbWithEmily shirt, courtesy of City View, while supplies last.

The team will also be running their Toys For Tots campaign during the month of December. In the spirit of the holidays, fans are encouraged to bring an unwrapped gift to donate.

SEARCH EXPLORERS:

• La Salle has yet to play back-to-back home games this season, as this will only be the Explorers’ third home game after five road games, including two straight three-game road stints. The Explorers were 8-4 when they played executive games at home last season, winning just two straight games at Tom Gola Arena twice last year.
• The Explorers enter the contest after a tough loss to Penn on Tuesday night marking La Salle’s first home loss of the season. The Quakers put together an early 6-0 streak to start the game, putting La Salle in pursuit for the rest of the game, eventually giving up the game 72-59. La Salle has now lost by a margin of 13 points twice this season, its biggest deficit margin.
• Gabby Crawford led the game for the Explorers in setting a new season high in points with 17 of 7 of 15 shooting and a 3 of 4 effort from the charity stripe. She now has five 10+ point games this season, including two straight games where she set a season high in points. The senior felled a team-high eight boards in the contest, also marking a season high.
• charity shears finished the game in double figures after a perfect fourth quarter shooting 3 of 3 from the field with 2 of 2 buckets coming from deep. His 13 points marked his fourth double-digit effort of the season.
• Claire Jacobs recorded yet another double-digit game. Her 10 points puts her within five double-digit games this year.
• La Salle’s 13 interceptions in the game are the most this season for the Blue & Gold. The competition marks the fifth time this season that La Salle has either matched his opponent in turnover or less committed.
• Crawford and Claire Jacobs rejoin Kayla Spruil as the only Explorers with a double-digit scoring average for La Salle this season. Jacobs is still the only explorer to reach more than 20 points this season while his sister Mia Jacobs is the only one to have achieved a double-digit rebound this season.

DISCOVERING THE MOUNTAIN FALCONS:

• The Mountain Hawks enter the competition at 3-5 with their most recent victory Wednesday night in an 81-67 win over Rider.
• Frannie Hottinger and Mackenzie Kramer combined over 50% of Lehigh’s points in the game. Hottinger had a career night with 34 points and 13 rebounds. Kramer scored 26 points in the game.
• Lehigh leads the nation in three-point field goals per game (11.4).
• The Mountain Hawks are one of only two programs in the nation with two players in the nation’s top 50 in scoring with Hottinger tied for 16^e with an average of 20.6 points and Kramer in 32^n/a averaging 19.6 points apiece in eight games.
• Lily Fandre made some noise for Lehigh this season by being recently named Patriot League Honorable Mention last Monday after posting a career-high 13 points and five rebounds against Drexel. She also recorded a career-high seven rebounds against Quinnipiac.
• Mountain Hawks like to shoot long range. The team set the Patriot League single-game record of 17 3-pointers in a win over Loyola. The team ranks eighth nationally in 2 points made per game and seventh nationally in 3 points attempted. Kramer is the leading 3-point shooter averaging 6.7 threes per game.

SERIES HISTORY:

• Saturday’s game between Lehigh and La Salle will be the 17th overall meeting between the two teams and the first since the 2017-18 season.
• La Salle has a three-game winning streak in the series and is 5-1 when hosting the Mountain Hawks.
• When the teams last met, La Salle built up a 21-point fourth-quarter lead before a Lehigh rally cut the deficit to just four. The Explorers were able to stop the comeback attempt and hold Lehigh scoreless in the final 57 seconds for the 69-61 win.
• This will be the first home contest for Explorers in the series since November 11, 2011.