City of Basketball Love

Kassidy Ingram (@ingram_kassidy)
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The 3-point line could be a much-needed asset for the La Salle University women’s basketball team, who struggled with their long-range shooting last year.

Last season, Mountain MacGillivray’s Explorers had a record of 8-22, going 5-13 in conference. In the 2023-24 season, the La Salle women ranked 281st nationally in 3-point shooting percentage, at 28.2%, placing them second to last in the Atlantic-10, just ahead of St. Bonaventure (27.2%).

Nicole Melious was the team’s highest percentage shooter at .341 from beyond the arc, but after a strong freshman season for the Explorers, Melious decided to transfer to Seton Hall, leaving the Explorers without their main sharpshooter.

With a nearly completely new team with eight transfers and five freshmen, MacGillivray brought a lot of fresh faces to Philadelphia – including a few who could help the team be much more productive from beyond the arc. 

In the home opener at the new John Glaser Arena, La Salle dominated the Delaware Blue Hens 68-54, leading the entire game except the first 3:05 of the first quarter. Though the Blue Hens outscored the Explorers in the third quarter (18-13), they were able to hold on to improve to a 1-1 record. 

“They came at us 14-2 in the third quarter and we didn't fold,” MacGillivray said. “ We stayed together, took the best shot they had, pushed the lead right back to 16 at some point in there. Just really proud of what they did.”

The Explorers have already shown they are much more capable of hitting their shots compared to last season, as in the first quarter alone the team went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.

Against the Blue Hens, the Explorers finished with a field goal percentage of 43.1% (25-of-58), going 8-of-19 (42.1%) from the 3-point line. It would have been their fourth-best outing last season, when the Explorers only had eight games where they connected on 35% or more of their 3s. 

Saint Louis transfer Ashleigh Connor was a key contributor in the  high-efficiency outing against Delaware (0-2). In her 31 minutes on the floor, the 5-foot-11 redshirt sophomore led the contest hitting 4-of-5 from three-point range, 5-of-6 from the freethrow line, and 6-of-10 from field goal range overall, totalling 21 points.

Her presence was undeniable on the floor for the Explorers, as she was scoring at all three levels.

“It feels good, [my] teammates found me in good spots [...] and I let it fly,” Connor said. “My teammates have my back like I always have theirs, it felt good.”

Another option who appears to be a strong shooter for the Explorers is junior Anna Przyszlak, a 6-1 forward from Gdansk, Poland. Przyszlak played 27 minutes, knocking down 2-of-4 from the three-point line, 3-of-5 from the field, and 3-of-4 from the FT line, ending with 11 points on the night. She transferred from Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City (Kan.) where she spent her first two years in the United States and averaged 14.8 ppg and 9.5 rpg for the Tigers. 

Transferring from small-town Kansas to a big city like Philadelphia, Przyszlak is happy and enjoying her time in a new environment with this LaSalle team. 

“I love the people here and also I love that it’s a big city,” Przyszlak said. “I’m a city girl, so being in Kansas for two years was a little culture shock. And I love that we have a school that is smaller but it’s still [in] a big city.”

While Connor and Przyszlak showed scoring prowess today, two other newcomers, junior Ayisse Magassa and freshman Joan Quinn (Cardinal O’Hara), made significant contributions in La Salle’s first contest against Maine this past Monday, with Magassa securing 13 points and Quinn finishing with 12 points on 5-of-10 FG shooting in that loss.

Against Delaware, Magassa went scoreless on two shots, but she snagged five boards in her 18 minutes of time. Quinn finished on 4-of-9 from the field and knocked down a three, totalling nine points in her 24 minutes.

Returning sophomore Aryss Macktoon and newcoming graduate student MacKenzie Daleba (Fairfield) both ended the contest with 10 points. Macktoon went 5-of-13 from the field and Daleba went 4-of-9. 

MacGillivray discussed how on any given night, any player on the team could step up as the leading scorer, which can make it challenging for opponents to know who to guard.

“I just really like looking at this box score and seeing four kids in double figures,” MacGillivray said. “And those four weren’t our two leading scorers last game, and that’s what we’ve been trying to build here…Shay and Joanie led us in scoring last game, and it’s four different scorers in double figures today, and that makes you really hard to guard and play against.”

While the team may have only shot 33.3% from FG range and 15.4% from 3-point range in their Maine contest, the jitters have clearly been shaken off for the Explorers.

MacGillivray also spoke about how they are not too focused on FG percentage, as he knows if his players continue to take the right shots and take advantage of opportunities they will have a promising season and conference play — and credits the girls for competing every day for it. 

“If we take quality shots, we should be able to make them,” he said. “We have the ability to not have to settle, which we couldn’t beat people off the dribble last year, couldn’t create mismatches and different advantages.”

“We have a whole team of kids who can create opportunities, and what we’re trying to figure out is how to take advantage of the opportunities,” he said. “There were so many opportunities tonight we didn’t take advantage of […] we’re going to get better at those things and that’s what I’m really excited about. I was really proud of the outcome today and [we] just have to keep moving forward.”