Feb. 25, 2009
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - Margaret Elderton - La Salle Women's Basketball's lone senior on the squad - poured in a game-high 19 points and added a team-high seven rebounds in her final home game at Tom Gola Arena, Wednesday.
However, the visiting Duquesne Dukes erased a 10-point halftime deficit to register the 66-51 victory in Atlantic 10 Conference action.
Elderton scored 16 of her points in the first half as the Explorers raced out to an early 13-point lead. With her team trailing 7-5 six minutes into the contest, Elderton drained back-to-back threes to start a La Salle 15-0 run.
The Explorers held the Dukes scoreless for five minutes in the span, which was continued with four points from Antonia Gale and a Tara Lapetina three. Elderton capped the run with a lay-up at the 8:33 mark and La Salle led 20-13.
Duquesne responded with its own run over the next three minutes to pull to within a basket. The 11 straight points included three three-point baskets, the final by Alex Gensler with 4:13 before the break had the Dukes down 20-18.
La Salle closed out the first with a 12-4 run with Elderton scoring six points and Jamie Walsh scoring the other six, including a three just before the halftime buzzer to put them up 32-22 at intermission.
The Dukes were a different team in the second half. Through the first 13 minutes out of the locker room, they hit 12-of-17 shots from the floor, 7-of-9 from behind the arc, and were a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line as they used a 37-7 run to open a 20-point lead (59-39).
La Salle missed its first eight shots in the period, six from three, and turned the ball over five times before its first made shot of the second half. Walsh hit a three to end a 20-1 Duquesne run out of the break, and her fourth three of the night ended a 17-2 run.
Duquesne (18-10, 8-5 A-10) used a balance attack with four players scoring between 11 and nine points and five hitting at least a pair of threes. The Dukes 14 threes in the game set a school record and tied an A-10 team-high for the season.
The Explorers attempted 29 three-point baskets in the game, which sets a school record for attempts in a game. The previous high was 28, versus Fordham on Feb. 24, 2006.
Walsh finished the game with 15 points, six assists, and three rebounds, while Morgan Robertson had seven points, seven boards, and Gale had six points, five boards, and two steals.
La Salle (10-18, 1-12 A-10) will finish its season with a 2 PM game at Massachusetts on Saturday. With the loss, the Explorers are eliminated from postseason play.
