Jan. 22, 2011

 

Box Score

 

 

PHILADELPHIA - Senior Ashley Gale added a game-high 22 points as the Explorers fell to Duquesne, 81-65, in Atlantic-10 play at Tom Gola Arena on Saturday afternoon.

"We just didn't execute on offense," head coach Jeff Williams said. "They took us away from our game and what we wanted to do."

Junior Nadia Duncan and sophomore Alexis Scott also hit double figures for La Salle with 13 and 10 points, respectively.    Scott and freshman Jess Koci each pulled down a team-high seven boards.

For Duquesne, Wumi Agunbiade added a double-double of 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.   Vanessa Abel and Jocelyn Floyd each had 13 points.

The Dukes took control of the contest early on and built a 17 point lead with 5:28 to play in the first half after a trey by Alex Gensler.

La Salle worked to cut the lead to ten at with a three-pointer and two foul shots from Gale with two minutes left in the first half.  Gale was tripped up after she released her trey and then went to the line to shoot two, making them both to put the score at 38-28.

The Explorers played a tough two minutes to end the half at were within six with 30 seconds left after Scott hit a pair from the charity stripe.

A three by Kelly Britcher gave Duquesne a 41-32 advantage at the half.

The Dukes opened scoring after the break with a jumper by Abel to extend their lead to 11.

La Salle would cut that lead to 10 three times in the second half, but was unable to get any closer.

Gale, who played all 40 minutes of the game, notched 18 of her 22 points in the first half and shot 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.  This is the Cheltenham, Pa. native's seventh game with more than 20 points this season.

La Salle shot .367 in the contest, while the Dukes converted at a .477 clip.  Both teams were plagued by turnovers, with the Explorers committing a season-high 22 and Duquesne 23.

The Blue and Gold will continue its A-10 slate with a trip to Dayton on Wednesday.  Game time is 7:00 p.m.