Feb. 27, 2008

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Playing in her final game at Tom Gola Arena, Carlene Hightower scored a game-high 21 points, but the La Salle University Women's Basketball team fell to Saint Joseph's, 70-52, on Wednesday evening.

Fellow senior Melanie Gibbons finished one rebound shy of her first career double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down nine boards, as the Explorers fell to 12-16 overall, 4-9 in the Atlantic 10, 1-3 in the Big 5.

The Explorers struggled to get anything going on offense early in the contest. After St. Joe's scored the game's first seven points, a jumper from Alyse Hoover finally got La Salle on the board at the 14:12 mark, cutting the Hawk lead to 7-2. However, St. Joe's continued to pour it on, taking their largest lead of the half at 14-3 with 10:57 to play.

With no rhythm offensively, the Explorers turned to their senior leader who responded in a big way. Hightower's layup at the 10:12 gave the offense the spark it was looking for, propelling La Salle to a 20-5 run. Margaret Elderton's three-pointer at the 3:29 mark gave the Explorers their first lead of the game at 21-19.

La Salle held its largest lead at 23-19 with 2:43 left in the half, but the Hawks closed the period on a 9-0 run, going into the intermission with a 28-23 lead. The Explorers could only manage two shots in the closing minutes of the opening stanza.

Hightower opened the second half with a three-pointer to pull the Explorers to within two, but the Hawks' Timisha Gomez responded with a trey of her own at the other end of the court. A jumper from Hightower would cut the Hawk lead to one at the 16:04 mark, but that would be the closest La Salle would get the rest of the way. An 11-2 Hawk run put St. Joe's up by 13 at the 7:44 mark.

The Explorers attempted to claw their way back. Jamie Walsh's three-pointer at the 5:50 mark cut the deficit to seven, but the Hawks rattled off eight-straight points to put the game out of reach.

Elderton finished the game with 11 points for the Explorers. Morgan Robertson grabbed six rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists.

For the Hawks, Timisha Gomez led the way with 18 points, while Brittany Ford dropped 16. Jenna Loschiavo and Mary Kate McDade scored 12 and 10, respectively. Sarah Acker pulled down a game-high 12 boards, as St. Joe's improved to 15-13 overall, 7-6 in the A-10, 2-2 in the Big 5.

The Hawk bench outscored La Salle's, 36-17.

The Explorers close out their regular season this Saturday when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on Duquesne. La Salle must win to have a shot at making the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Game time is 7:00 PM.