Box Score
HANOVER, N.H. - La Salle raced out to an early 9-0 lead just over a minute into the game and never trailed as the Explorers topped host Dartmouth 60-47 in the opening game of the Blue Sky Classic on Thursday evening.
Alexis Scott led all scorers with 14 points, 12 of those coming in the decisive first half.
Jada Payne added 13, with nine of those points coming from behind the arc, and
Nadia Duncan chipped in 12.
Ruvanna Campbell set a new career/season rebounding mark with 16 boards, besting her previous mark of 12. She also added seven points.
Michea Bryant dished out seven assists to just one turnover in 21 minutes of play and also recorded three steals.
Faziah Steen led the Big Green (2-9) with 12 points and Milica Toskovic added 11. Kamala Thompson hit double figures in rebounds with 10.
The Explorers (4-9) dominated throughout, rattling off the first nine points of the game over the first 1:33 behind five Payne points and four Scott points. Nicola Zimmer got the hosts on the board at 17:46, but the Explorers pushed their lead to 12 as
Jordan Mosley hit a trey at the 12:15 mark for an 18-6 lead. An 11-3 Dartmouth run capped by a Tia Dawson jumper at 5:35 brought the Big Green within four at 21-17 but the Explorers closed out the half on an 8-3 spurt to take a 29-20 lead into the break.
Steen nailed a trey just out of the break to bring the Big Green within six, but that was the closest the Explorers let them get. The Blue & Gold pushed the lead back to double digits thanks to back-to-back treys by Payne and never relinquished the double digit lead the rest of the game. An
Indigo Dickens layup with 6:12 remaining gave the Explorers a 19-point lead, their largest of the game.
Both squads struggled with turnovers as there were a combined 47 miscues; however, the Explorers won the battle by forcing the Big Green into 29 turnovers to 18 of their own. The Blue & Gold turned those Big Green miscues into 24 points. The Explorers also commanded the boards, outrebounding Dartmouth 42-31.
La Salle returns to action tomorrow night for the Big Sky Classic finale as the Explorers take on Vermont at 5 p.m.
