La Salle point guard Molly Masciantonio is on the ball — and on top of the country in assist-to-turnover ratio

For Molly Masciantonio, it’s all about ball control.

The redshirt senior and La Salle starting point guard leads all Division I players, male or female, in assist-to-turnover ratio, and it’s not close. Masciantonio’s 113 assists and 24 turnovers this season give her a ratio of 4.7. The women’s basketball player in second, McKenna Hofschild of Colorado State, has a ratio of 3.5.

“I’ve always just taken care of the ball,” Masciantonio said. “I don’t like turning the ball over, because it’s my job to get it to my teammates, so that’s one of my priorities.”

» READ MORE: Kayla Spruill is making her mark, and inching close to leaving one, at La Salle

According to La Salle coach Mountain MacGillivray, Masciantonio’s skill in this area has been huge for an Explorers team that has struggled with turnovers at times. La Salle (17-13, 8-7 Atlantic 10) averages 17.1 turnovers per game, the fifth-highest average in the Atlantic 10.

“She’s having an amazing season with her ball control,” MacGillivray said. “And that’s something really important that we preach, and we’ve not been great at as a team. So it’s really crucial for us to have a point guard who’s so good at it, or we’d really be in trouble.”

Masciantonio’s name may be alone at the top in the statistical category, but she’s quick to give credit where she feels it’s due.

“I take pride in not turning the ball over. … But it’s my teammates who make the shots. I’m giving them the ball so they can make the shot,” she said. “So that’s how I’m in the position that I am in.”

Masciantonio’s path to the top wasn’t always a straight shot. The Delco native went to Archbishop Carroll, where she had an All-Catholic, All-Delco, All-Main Line, and All-State basketball career. She grew up going to Big 5 games and dreamed of playing on that stage in college.

MacGillivray spent 13 years as an assistant coach at Archbishop Carroll earlier in his career, so he was familiar with Masciantonio’s game. He was hired at La Salle from Quinnipiac in 2018, but he didn’t bring her on board right away.

“I probably knew her too well,” he said. “And having just got the job here and not knowing the team that I had, what the Atlantic 10 looked like, and not knowing how we would fit in, I was really reluctant to be unsure with a local kid. You bring in a local kid and they’re unhappy, that hurts you getting other local kids. So there were just too many question marks for me because I didn’t know what I was doing.”

» READ MORE: Mountain MacGillivray's path to 20th and Olney

Instead, MacGillivray encouraged Masciantonio to take her offer at Division II Holy Family.

Masciantonio did, and in her one season with the Tigers, she led the team in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks. When she decided to transfer, MacGillivray jumped at the chance to make her an Explorer.

“My parents were very, very happy, and they started crying,” Masciantonio said. “So that was a huge moment for me. Growing up, that was my dream to play [in the Big 5]. And then just seeing it pan out how it did, it’s just been really fun.”

Staying in Philadelphia has allowed Masciantonio’s family to come support her — she has a loud cheering section at all of La Salle’s home games.

She has established herself among the nation’s best point guards in terms of ball control, but it wasn’t always certain that she would play there. While Masciantonio played point guard at Holy Family, once she made the jump to Division I — a move that required her to sit out a year because of transfer rules — most of her minutes in her first season came on the wing.

It was just last year when she finally won La Salle’s starting point guard job.

“Transitioning to the point guard position in this division and our structure, it was a little challenging to kind of know my role and do things for my teammates, but I’ve gotten a lot of feedback and help,” Masciantonio said.

MacGillivray describes Masciantonio’s success this season as “just another step further,” and he hopes to see her take yet another step when she returns to the Explorers next season for her last year of eligibility.

A hallmark of Masciantonio’s leadership is her ability to bring positive energy to her team, even in the face of personal hardships. The guard missed several games early in the season because of injury.

She also experienced the loss of her mother, Susanne Masciantonio, who died in December following a battle with cancer. Her mother had played basketball at West Catholic, and Masciantonio says that example was a major reason she got into the sport.

“I’m just kind of bringing positivity all the time and working hard and just getting through stuff, especially this past year,” Masciantonio said. “I’m just leading by example and trying to do what’s best for the team and just bringing positive energy all the time.”