Philadelphia, PA - It has been 24 years since the La Salle women's basketball team defeated the George Washington Colonials, but the Explorers pulled off a 65-53 upset over the Colonials tonight, Friday, February 04, 2005 in Tom Gola Arena. The victory marks just the second time La Salle has defeated George Washington making the series 23-2 in favor of the Colonials.
La Salle did not trail at any point during the game and the closest the Colonials came to La Salle was one point when the score was 1-0 from 18:11 until 16:08 in the first half and again at the 14:52 mark when the Explorers held a 5-4 lead. The Explorers took their biggest lead of the first half when they went up seven at the 5:50 mark. The Colonials then went on a small run to bring the game within two with 2:36 left, but
La Salle finished the half strong and went into the locker room up 28-21.
The Colonials came out after halftime and looked to be on track to reclaim the game coming to within two points with 14:22 left. But La Salle head coach Tom Lochner switched to a zone defense and senior Meghan Wilkinson (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown) hit back to back three point baskets to spark an 11-0 run and put La Salle up 45-32 with 10:53 remaining in the game.
La Salle did not let the score get any closer than nine points for the rest of the game and took the biggest lead with 2:57 left when they went up 15 points, 62-47. George Washington senior Anna Montanana scored 13 of her 20 points in the second half, but it was no enough as the Explorers gained their third conference victory of the season.
La Salle was led by sophomore Crista Ricketts (Douglasville, PA/Daniel Boone) with 25 points. She was one rebound away from her third double double of the season as she pulled down nine. Wilkison finished with her first double double of the season recording 14 points and a career high 12 rebounds. Senior Monica Garrido-Sanz (Majadahonda, Spain/C.B. Majadahonda) also pulled down 12 rebounds, tying her career high which was set last season at George Washington.
Senior Jill Marano (Crofton, MD/Arundel) was the only other Explorer to score in double figures as she tallied 11 points. She also dished out a game high five assists along with Wilkinson who also had five assists. Junior Shaune McLaughlin (Somers Point, NJ/Mainland Regional) added nine points in the victory. She also accumulated four assists.
La Salle improves to 9-11 overall and 3-6 in the conference while George Washington falls to 13-7 overall and 6-3 in the A-10. The Explorers will host Fordham this Sunday, February 6th at 12:00 p.m. in a double header as the men's team will host the Fordham men following the women's game. The La Salle women's basketball team looks to improve to 3-3 when playing on Super Bowl Sunday.
