PHILADELPHIA - Jamie Walsh scored a season and game-high 18 points to help La Salle Women's Basketball to its 15th straight home win over the visiting Penn Quakers, 67-51, Saturday afternoon at Tom Gola Arena. The win also ended the Explorers 11-game home losing skid.
After dropping the first ever meeting between the two schools, on Feb. 28, 1974, La Salle has now won the last 15, including a 6-0 record at Tom Gola Arena. They are now 32-5 all-time against the Quakers, including five straight victories overall.
Speaking of that 70s era, La Salle has now held its last seven opponents under 60 points for the first time since a seven-game steak Feb. 12 through March 5, 1976. Only two streaks in the 38-year history of the program exist that are longer, Jan. 15 through Feb. 12, 1974 (nine straight) and Feb. 6 through Feb. 27, 1973 (eight).
Morgan Robertson, who was the only other Explorer in double figures with 12 points, also pulled down five rebounds. She scored six in the game's first five minutes to push La Salle out to an early 8-2 lead.
Penn (1-10, 0-2 Big 5) took its only lead at 2-1 on Jess Knapp's basket 30 ticks into the game. She finished the contest with nine points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Jerin Smith, who had seven points, six boards, cut the Penn deficit to 8-4 with a lay-up at the 14:24 mark, but that would be the closest the Quakers would be the rest of the afternoon.
La Salle used an 8-0 run sparked by back-to-back three-point baskets by Walsh to extend its lead into double figures and it would grow to as much as 18, at 33-15 with 5:13 left before the intermission after an Antonia Gale basket.
The Quakers cut a 16-point halftime deficit to 12 just 41 seconds into the second half, but La Salle would hold them to just four made foul shots over the next 9:10 to push its lead to as many as 25.
Walsh knocked down a pair of threes in the 17-4 run, and Nadia Duncan scored a pair of baskets. Duncan finished with a game-high eight points off the bench, two shy of her third double-figure output of the season, and added five boards.
Ashley Gale scored eight points as well, tied for the team-lead with six rebounds, and added four assists. Also off the bench, Jessica Walton tallied a career-high six points, while Danielle Callahan tied her season-high with five assists.
Meanwhile, Tara Lapetina's eyes must light up when she sees Penn. Three years ago, she scored her career-high of 20 points with a career-high five made threes against the Quakers. In this game, she pulled down a career-high six rebounds, scored six points, and added a season-high (one shy of career-high) six assists.
Her six points came on a pair of threes, giving her 99 makes on 268 attempts in her career - good for 10th all-time in both categories.
Speaking of three-point records, Walsh connected on 4-of-7 on the afternoon, bringing her career totals to 170 makes on 447 attempts. She is just behind Jen Zenszer (1997-01), who is second all-time at the school with 174 makes, and Meghan Wilkinson (2001-05), who holds the all-time record with 175. Walsh is five attempts shy of passing Jennifer Cole (1989-93) for fourth place on the attempts list.
In all, La Salle registered 22 assists in the game on 25 baskets. It was the most since recording 23 on 31 baskets versus Tennessee-Martin in the team's season-opening win of the 2005-06 season, a 72-55 victory, Nov. 19, 2005.
La Salle (5-9, 1-1 Big 5) will host its second straight Ivy League opponent on Tuesday afternoon - an Elementary School Day event - welcoming Princeton with tip slated for 12 PM.
