Dec. 5, 2009
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - Led by Morgan Robertson's 14 points, La Salle Women's Basketball had six players for at least eight points and the Explorers turned the ball over a season-low 13 times on their way to a 68-57 victory over the host Drexel Dragons at the Daskalakis Athletic Center Saturday afternoon in non-conference action.
Robertson was joined in double figures by Tara Lapetina (13), Jamie Walsh (12), Nadia Duncan (12), while the Gale sisters were just shy with Ashley Gale scoring nine and Antonia Gale eight. Lapetina added a game-high five assists to her totals.
Antonia and Robertson both pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, and Walsh grabbed a career-high seven as La Salle outrebouned its first opponent of the 2009-10 season at plus-five (37-32).
The game did not start out in the Explorers' favor thanks to an early 13-0 run by the Dragons. Ashley Gale opened the game with a three, and then two free throws at the 18:07 mark tied the game at 5-5.
Over the next five minutes, La Salle missed five shots and turned the ball over twice as Gabriela Marginean and Jasmina Rosseel sparked the Dragons to an 18-5 advantage.
Marginean was 4-for-4 from the floor and scored 10 points, while Rosseel hit a three and when she hit two free throws at the 13:45 mark, the Dragons held a 13-point lead.
La Salle responded with its own run, started with a Walsh jumper and continued by Duncan. She scored 10 straight Explorers points on a lay-up, a short jumper, then twice completed three-point plays, with her final one pulling La Salle to within four at 21-17 with 7:49 left before the half.
The Dragons would take a six-point edge into the break at 32-26, as Marginean led all scorers at that point with 15, Rosseel had 11. They shot 42.9% from the floor, including 4-of-6 from three.
The second half was a different story, as the Explorers came out of the locker room scoring 11 straight to take a five-point lead, and it grew to eight at the 14-minute mark. Robertson scored seven in the span, which included a three. Walsh, Lapetina and Ashley Gale each also knocked down a shot from behind the arc. La Salle hit a season-high eight in the contest.
Less than two minutes later, though, the Dragons had their deficit to within two as Tyler Hale scored on a three-point play and Hollie Mershon hit a three to make it 42-40 with 12:19 left. It was still a two-point game with 10:25 left after a Taylor Wootton basket.
The Explorers used a 9-2 run over the next four minutes to build its lead to nine. In the run Walsh hit a jumper at the 6:48 mark, and Robertson scored four in the run, ending with a pair of free throws with 5:57 left in the game to put La Salle up 53-44.
The only Drexel points in the run were two free throws by Marginean, at the 8:03 mark, her first points of the second half. She scored just six points after the half, all foul shots, and after starting the game 5-for-5 from the floor, was held to just one make on her last nine shots.
Drexel (3-3) did not hit a shot from the floor from the 10:25 mark until less than a minute to go, while La Salle went from Walsh's basket to the 1:40 mark without a field goal. However, they hit 6-of-10 from the line to keep the lead.
Antonia Gale hit that basket - a three - to put La Salle up 59-51, and the Explorers knocked down 9-of-10 in the game's last 1:16 to seal the victory. The hit a season-high 22 free throws in the game on 33 attempts.
The Explorers held the Dragons to just 22.2% shooting in the second half, and 15.4% from three, while they were 52.6% and 55.6% from three. They scored 42 second-half points, ironically the same number they tallied in their overtime win at Long Island.
La Salle (2-6) will take a week off before returning back to the court to take on another Colonial Athletic Association opponent. The Explorers will travel down to Delaware for a Dec. 13 contest with the Blue Hens.
