Box Score Box Score

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Alexis Scott led all scorers with 21 points and the La Salle women's basketball team cut the West Virginia lead down to five late in the second half, but the Mountaineers pulled out the 63-52 decision at WVU Coliseum on Wednesday night.

Brittany Wilson added 13 points for the Explorers and Ruvanna Campbell put in a career-best eight on 3-for-3 shooting along with a team-high seven rebounds. WVU's Taylor Palmer led the home squad with 20, Asya Bussie added 18 and Natalie Burton chipped in 10 off the bench.

The first few minutes of the game were sloppy as both squads combined for seven turnovers by the first media timeout, with the score sitting at just 4-3. Campbell scored the first four points of the game for La Salle (2-6) on a jumper and two made free throws. Scott gave the Blue & Gold a 6-5 lead on a layup at 13:47, but two Bussie free throws put the Mountaineers (4-2) back on top for good.

The Explorers got within 17-14 with seven minutes remaining in the first half, but a 17-4 Mountaineer run sparked by Burton's 10 points over the next 5:20 put the home team up 34-18 with 1:40 until the break.

The Explorers battled in the second half, cutting the Mountaineer lead down to five with the score at 51-46 with 7:37 remaining. Scott sparked the run with 11 points and a Wilson trey at 7:37 capped the rally. A Campbell layup at 5:49 brought the Explorers back within five once again with a jumper, but that was the closest the Explorers got down the stretch as Palmer swished two treys for a 6-0 Mountaineer spurt.

Neither squad hit a trey in the first half with each team going 0-for-5 beyond the arc, but Palmer made all four of WVU's three-pointers in the second half. Both teams also struggled at the free throw line, with the Explorers hitting just 10 of 17 and WVU hitting just nine of 16.

The Explorers return home on Sunday to host Villanova at Tom Gola Arena at 2 p.m.