Dec. 16, 2008

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Morgan Robertson hit a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left to break a 57-all tie and Margaret Elderton sealed the La Salle Women’s Basketball victory with two more foul shots with seven ticks left to give the Explorers a 61-57 win Tuesday evening over Lafayette in non-conference action at Tom Gola Arena.

Those four straight points capped a 9-1 run for La Salle over the game’s final two minutes – a game that saw the Explorers lead by more than 16 points with less than 15 minutes left in the second half.

 

Robertson led all players with 15 points, grabbed a team-high six rebounds, and added a career-high four steals. Elderton scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half and had a game-high six assists to go with four boards, while Jenna Gilbert scored a season-high 14 points.

 

Close through 10 minutes, La Salle took a seven-point lead when Robertson scored seven straight Explorer points to make it 20-13 with 6:47 left before intermission. However, Lafayette pulled even at 22-all with a 9-2 run capped by a Jessica Spicer jumper with 1:53 left before the half.

 

The Explorers scored the final four points before the break and continued their run out of the locker rooms, scoring 12 straight to open a 38-22 advantage. The three-point play was the key in the first half to help the Leopards stay close – they hit a pair and LaKeisha Wright twice converted and-ones – and La Salle was 0-for-7 from behind the arc in the first.

 

Their run to start the second was keyed by back-to-back threes by Gilbert and Jamie Walsh and then they converted two straight and-ones – Robertson and Elderton – and with 18:04 left in the game, they led by 16. The lead was still 16 after Nadia Duncan scored on a driving lay-up, but that is when the Leopards made their move.

 

Lafayette (4-6) slowly cut into the deficit, starting with a 5-0 run, stopped by two free throws by Gilbert, but followed by a 6-0 run capped by back-to-back baskets by Elizabeth Virgin and with 10:01 left, they trailed 46-39.

 

Elderton stopped that run, but seven straight Lafayette points in the next two minutes pulled them to within two and Emily Garner had a chance to tie the game when she went to the foul line. She hit one, and Elderton drained a three to push the Explorer lead back to four (51-47) at the 6:15 mark.

 

However, Lafayette would have one more run in them. Amanda Smith knocked down a jumper, Cristin Zavocki hit a three – at the 4:28 mark to give the Leopards their first lead of the game at 52-51 – and when Spicer scored on a lay-up with 2:16, they had their largest lead at four – 56-52.

 

Ashley Gale responded with a three 16 seconds later, and Gilbert hit a shot just inside the three-point line to give La Salle the lead back, 57-56. Smith converted just one of her two foul shots to pull Lafayette back even with 57 seconds left.

 

Robertson would convert her two free throws and Lafayette turned the ball over on its next possession with 18 seconds left. Oddly, when La Salle inbounded the ball, the Leopards did not foul right way, and 11 seconds ticked off the clock before Elderton was fouled. She sank hers for the final points of the game.

 

For the Leopards, Wright and Zavocki each scored 13 points, while Garner led all players with nine rebounds. They outrebounded the Explorers 37-25, including grabbing 10 offensive boards and turning them into 13 points.

 

The Explorers (5-5) travel to Baltimore for their next game to face Loyola (MD), Friday at 7 PM, before returning home to host Rider on Sunday at 1 PM.