Jan. 23, 2008
Box Score
WASHINGTON, DC - The La Salle University Women's Basketball team stayed with nationally-ranked George Washington for the first half, but eventually the #20/17 Colonials pulled away for a 50-32 victory Wednesday night in Atlantic 10 Conference action at the Charles E. Smith Center.
The Explorers held a four-point lead late in the first half before George Washington closed out the frame on an 8-2 run. The Colonials then opened up the second with 12 straight points to push their advantage to double figures - the Explorers never recovered - and improved their record to 13-0 at home versus the Explorers.
Margaret Elderton gave the Explorers a quick 2-0 lead, but the Colonials responded with seven straight to take their largest lead of the first half just three minutes into the game. La Salle would hold them scoreless for the next five minutes, but could only manage to knot the score at 7-all after an Elderton steal and fast break lay-up.
Sarah-Jo Lawrence put GW again up five with back-to-back baskets, her second a three pointer with 11:19 left, but an 11-2 run over the next five minutes by La Salle gave the Explorers an 18-14 lead.
Morgan Robertson started the run with a three-point play, Elderton then drained a three, and Carlene Hightower's first basket of the game - a three - put La Salle up 16-14. Her next basket - a fast break lay-up 30 seconds later - gave the Explorers their largest lead of the game with 5:12 left before intermission.
With three minutes left before the break, La Salle still held that four-point lead, but the Colonials closed out the half on that 8-2 run - the only Explorer points were two Hightower free throws - to give them a 22-20 halftime advantage.
George Washington (15-4, 3-1 A-10) continued its run out of the locker room to take a 14-point lead at 34-20. The Colonials' Jessica Adair scored six of her team-high 14 in the run to give her team the double-figure cushion.
Alyse Hoover ended the Explorers' scoring drought - that reached almost seven minutes - with a jumper in the lane. Then, after the Colonials took a 16-point lead, she and Ashley Gale hit back-to-back threes to cut the deficit to 10.
However, Antelia Parrish followed a Lawrence basket with a pair of three pointers and lay-up to push the George Washington lead to 20, and the Explorers would never get closer than 16 the rest of the way.
Hightower scored a team-high 11 points and had six rebounds, while Elderton added seven points and Robertson grabbed a game-high nine boards. The Explorers - who shot just 27.9% from the floor in the game - were held to their lowest output since a 62-35 loss at Virginia Tech on Feb. 7, 1999.
They did, however, hold George Washington to its third-lowest output of the season. Also, since the start of the 1980-81 season, the Colonials - at home - have been held to 50 or fewer points just 10 times, and only three times in A-10 play.
They only other times were when La Salle limited them to just 47 points on Feb. 27, 2005 and Saint Joseph's allowed just 46 points on Jan. 22, 1994, but those A-10 games are the only contests GW has won when held to 50 or fewer.
La Salle (9-10, 1-3 A-10) returns home for its next game - hosting Saint Bonaventure, Saturday at 5 PM.
