PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Saint Francis women's basketball team fell to La Salle by a 76-68 margin in the first meeting in program history on Saturday.

After a strong defensive first half for Saint Francis, La Salle made its adjustments as it outscored SFU 50-36 in the second half to secure the victory. The Explorers totaled 13 three-pointers, nine of which came in the second half.
 
Saint Francis 68, La Salle 76
Records: Saint Francis (0-4), La Salle (2-1)
Location: Tom Gola Arena (Philadelphia, Pa.)
 
KEY MOMENTS
The Red Flash defense held the Explorers to two points in the first five minutes of the second quarter and outscored La Salle 19-9 in the second quarter to take a six-point lead into the half. Karson Swogger had a takeaway with six seconds remaining in the half to set up Haley Thomas for a three-pointer to extend SFU's lead to six going into the locker room.

Saint Francis had a five-point lead with 8:10 to play before La Salle went on a 13-4 run to take a 65-61 lead midway through the final quarter, its largest lead since the first quarter and a lead that was not relinquished.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Thomas had the first basket of the game for the second-straight game with a layup from Katie Dettwiller's pass. La Salle responded with a 10-2 run to take its biggest lead of the first quarter, 10-4, with 5:13 to play in the first. All four of SFU's points belonged to Thomas.

The Red Flash responded with a run of its own as Kaitlyn Maxwell tied the game at 13 with the first three-pointer of her career with just under three minutes to play in the opening quarter. La Salle scored the final four points of the first quarter to hold a 17-13 lead after 10 minutes of play.

SFU scored the first five points of the second quarter as Swogger gave Saint Francis its first lead since the first shot of the game with a three-pointer. The Red Flash defense held the Explorers to just two points past the midway point of the second quarter as SFU held a 22-19 lead out of the media timeout with 4:51 to play in the first half.

La Salle tied the game at 22 with 4:31 remaining in the first half but Saint Francis outscored LAS 10-4 to end the first half. Swogger had five points during the run, including a second three-pointer. In the final 10 seconds of the first half, Swogger took the ball away from the La Salle offense and found Thomas behind the arc to increase the lead to 32-26 going into the locker room.

The Explorers opened the second half with a 13-5 run to take its first lead since the first quarter, 39-37, with 5:52 to play in the third quarter. Jenna Mastellone hit a three-pointer before the media timeout to give the Red Flash the lead back at the midway point of the quarter.

Sam Miller became the sixth Saint Francis player to make a three-pointer out of the media timeout. The Explorers hit a pair of three-pointers down the stretch as the high-scoring third quarter ended with the teams tied at 52, the third tie of the quarter. Swogger, Thomas and Mastellone all reached double figures during the third quarter.

Swogger opened the fourth quarter with five unanswered points on the floor, including her third triple of the game before La Salle answered with its 10^th long-range shot of the game to trim SFU's lead to 57-55 with 8:08 to play.

The Explorers continued on a 13-4 run leading into the media timeout with 4:35 to play as it held its largest lead since the first quarter, 65-61. La Salle made eight free throws down the stretch to earn the 76-68 victory.

STATS
La Salle shot 38 percent from both the floor and three-point range as the Explorers totaled 13 three-pointers. Saint Francis shot 42 percent from the floor, its best shooting performance of the season thus far, but only 30 percent from behind the arc.

The Explorers did not attempt a single free throw in the first half but ended the game 11-of-13 from the line. The Red Flash finished the game 12-of-14 in free throws.

Both teams totaled more assists than turnovers. La Salle had 16 assists and nine turnovers while Saint Francis had a season-high 18 assists compared to 16 turnovers. The Explorers held the slight 39-37 advantage in rebounds.

GAME NOTES

• Swogger played in her 100^th game as a member of the Red Flash.
• Maxwell made the first three-pointer of her career during the first quarter.
• This was the first game this season the Red Flash had four players in double figures as Swogger, Thomas, Mastellone and Miller all reached the 10-point plateau.
• Swogger tied her career-high eight assists and registered her first 20-point game of the season.

 

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To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.