VESTAL, NY - The La Salle University Women's Basketball team was hurt by foul trouble Wednesday night and fell to the Binghamton Bearcats, 84-70, at the Events Center.

 

Both of their post players, junior Crista Ricketts (Douglasville, PA/Daniel Boone) and sophomore Carlene Hightower (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Prendergast) each picked up four fouls before there was 10 minutes left in the game and fouled out with just under four minutes left.

 

Most of those fouls were called while guarding the Bearcats' Laine Kurpniece, who scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds (both game highs), including 18 points in the second half as Binghamton opened up what was a close game in the first half.

 

Through the game's first 10 minutes, the two teams played even with neither gaining more than a basket lead. However, senior Shaune McLaughlin (Somers Point, NJ/Mainscoredland Regional) scored on a lay-up at 9:51 in the first half that gave the Explorers a four-point lead and after she hit two free throws two minutes later, La Salle took its largest lead of the game at 23-18.

 

Binghamton (2-2) used a 14-3 run over the next three minutes highlighted by a pair of three-point baskets by Jen Blues to take a 32-26 lead with 4:22 left in the first half and took the six-point lead into intermission at 37-31.

 

Just 38 seconds into the second half, Ricketts was whistled for her fourth foul and would sit on the bench for the next 10 minutes. Without her, the Explorers turned to a smaller quicker line-up and were able to tie the game with less than 14 minutes to play. The run was keyed by a pair of threes by junior Jenna Graber (Clarksburg, NJ/Peddie School) and when senior Davineia Payne (Bear, DE/Caravel Academy) converted two free throws, the score was 49-49.

 

Hightower was the go-to person in the post once Ricketts went out and she responded with 10 points in the second half and finished with a career-high 17 for the game. She also added five rebounds.

 

Her two free throws at the 11:29 mark of the second evened the game at 53-53, however the Bearcats used an 18-2 run over five minutes to open up the game and the Explorers would never cut the deficit into single digits.

 

Three other players reached double digits for La Salle, led by Hightower. Payne scored 14 points and added seven rebounds, while McLaughlin and Graber added 11 each.