Posted by: Meaghann SchultePhiladelphia, PA - La Salle junior Davineia Payne (Bear, DE/Caravel Academy) recorded a career high 24 points in the Explorers 77-48 routing of the Fordham Rams. This is the second straight victory in the conference and the first time La Salle has won two games in a row in 2005. The Explorers improve to 10-11 overall and 4-6 in the conference.
The game was extremely close in the first half as the two teams went back and forth for the first five minutes of the half. La Salle then went on 6-0 run to build a five point lead and built a seven point lead by the 9:54 mark. The game then went scoreless for the next three and a half minutes and the Rams went on a 10-4 run to finish the half and went into the locker room down 25-24.
The Explorers looked like a totally different team in the second half as they out scored Fordham 52-25. Fordham brought the game to within six points at the 13:13 mark, but La Salle went on a 20-0 run in the next six minutes to pull the game out of the reach of the Rams.
La Salle saw four different players score in double figures led by Payne's 24 points. She also led the team in rebounds with eight and steals with four. Also scoring in double figures was sophomore Crista Ricketts (Douglasville, PA/Daniel Boone) she netted 13 points while seniors Monica Garrido-Sanz (Majadahonda, Spain/C.B. Majadahonda) and Jill Marano (Crofton, MD/Arundel) scored 13 and 11 points respectively. Garrido-Sanz led the team in assists with five, Ricketts and Marano both dished out three while senior Meghan Wilkinson (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown) recorded four. Wilkinson also scored eight points in the victory.
La Salle head coach Tom Lochner used his depth towards the end of the game playing six players off the bench. Freshmen Alyse Hoover (Lebanon, PA/Cedar Crest), Melanie Gibbons (Bridgewater, NJ/Raritan), Meghan Ahl (Bronx, NY/Preston) and Carlene Hightower (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Predergast) all saw significant time. Ahl scored her first collegiate points as she stepped to the line and knocked down two foul shots. Sophomore Jenna Graber (Clarksburg, NJ/Peddie School) returned to action after sitting out for the majority of the season.
The Explorers will travel to Dayton and Xavier this weekend and face the Musketeers on Friday the 11th and the Flyers on Sunday the 13th. Both games are set to tip-off at noon.
