Shaune McLaughlin scored 15 points, and had five assists and four steals.

Carlene Hightower scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Jenna Graber hit this three pointer, which put La Salle up five in the second half.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Trailing by 17 points with under four minutes to play, the La Salle University Women's Basketball team scored 14 straight points to get as close as 68-65, but the Fordham Rams converted 8-of-10 free throws from that point on to seal their victory over the Explorers, 76-68, in Atlantic 10 action Friday night at Tom Gola Arena.

 

The Explorers put four players in double figures led by junior Crista Ricketts (Douglasville, PA/Daniel Boone), who scored 18 points, and senior Shaune McLaughlin (Somers Point, NJ/Mainland Regional) and sophomore Carlene Hightower (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Prendergast), who each had 15 points. McLaughlin added five assists and four steals, while Hightower had five rebounds and three steals.

 

Fordham (9-17, 4-11 A-10) got 60 of their points from three players, Lisa Carroll (23), Jada Jefferson (21) and Stacey Price (16). The trio combined to shoot 23-of-33 from the floor (69.7%), while the Rams shot 62.2% for the game. Price added 12 rebounds - for her first career double-double - and five assists to her totals.

 

La Salle (11-15, 7-8 A-10) led for most of the first half, holding a game-high seven-point lead at the 11:31 mark of the first. They held a 28-22 lead before the Rams used a 7-0 run to grab its first lead of the game. After Fordham held a 31-30 advantage, Hightower hit a three and Ricketts hit a free throw to give La Salle a three-point halftime lead.

 

A lay-up by Jefferson at the 18:33 mark of the second put Fordham up again at 36-34, before La Salle tallied the game's next seven points and after Jenna Graber (Clarksburg, NJ/Peddie School) hit her fourth three of the night, the Explorers were up 41-36 with 16:32 remaining.

 

Then the lid was put over the La Salle basket and the Ram's basket grew to double the size, because from 16:00 to the 10:53 mark, the Explorers went 0-for-5 from the floor with three turnovers and Fordham hit 7-of-8 shots and was 4-for-5 from the foul line and when Price scored on a lay-up, the Rams lead 55-41.

 

The Rams actually shot 75.0% in the second half and continued to build on their lead, pushing it to as many as 18 (64-46) with 6:44 left in the game, and a Price jumper with 5:23 left put them up 68-51.

 

Two harmless made free throws by Ricketts at the 3:46 mark cut the lead down to 15, but it was the start of a 14-0 run. McLaughlin scored six in the stretch and when Ricketts scored on a lay-up and completed a three-point play with another made foul shot, La Salle was down three with 1:29 left. However, the Explorers would get no closer and could only muster a made three by Hightower the rest of the way.

 

The Explorers will finish the regular season at Massachusetts, Sunday, Feb. 26 with a 2 PM tip.