Box Score

CHICAGO - La Salle held Loyola Chicago scoreless over the final 1:19 and Alexis Scott made two clutch free throws with six seconds remaining as the Explorers eked out a 48-45 win at Gentile Arena on Thursday night.

Brittany Wilson led all scorers with 15 points - 13 in the first half - and Jordan Mosley added 12. Scott had just four points, but they were the Explorers' final four points of the night to ice the game. Ruvanna Campbell, playing in front of a hometown crowd, pulled down a game-best 12 rebounds and blocked three shots to up her total to 23 to lead the Explorer defense.

Patrice King led the Ramblers with 13 and Monica Albano chipped in 10.

The Explorers' (3-7) win was also a spoiler for the Ramblers (4-4), who were playing their first-ever game in the newly renovated Gentile Arena. The win pushes the all-time series record to 7-1 with the one-time conference foes during La Salle's Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC) days.

Not surprisingly, the low-scoring game got out to a slow start. After a quick Wilson bucket at 19:40, the Explorers didn't find the net again until 17:08 when Campbell rolled in a layup. Loyola Chicago took until 14:15 to get on the board on two King free throws, and the Ramblers did not get their first field goal until the 13:37 mark.

The remainder of the first half featured four lead changes and three ties before the Explorers finished the half on a 5-1 spurt to take a 30-23 lead into the break. They could not extend that lead early in the second half as the Ramblers came out of the gate with a 6-0 run to close the gap to 30-29. A Mosley trey pushed the lead back to three but Albano responded with a trey of her own for the first tie of the second stanza and King pushed the home squad ahead on a layup.

The second half featured six more lead changes before the Explorers went ahead for good on the seventh change with 2:55 remaining on a Wilson layup to put the score at 44-43. A Troy Hambric jumper at 1:19 brought the Ramblers within 46-45 but Albano missed a layup with 18 seconds remaining and Campbell scooped up the rebound. Scott was fouled with six seconds remaining and swished both free throws for the final 48-45 score. Abby Skube attempted a 3-pointer with one second remaining but Campbell came up with the block as the buzzer sounded.

La Salle crushed the boards on Thursday night, outrebounding Loyola Chicago 45-27. In addition to Campbell's 12 rebounds, Wilson added eight while Jada Payne and Nadia Duncan pulled down five each.

Both squads struggled from the floor on the whole, although there were a few hot shooting spurts. After going 52.2 percent (12-for-23) in the first half, the Explorers shot just 24.1 percent in the second half (7-for-29). The Ramblers went just 27.6 percent in the first half on 8-for-29 shooting before making 10 of 24 for 41.7 percent in the second half. The 40 combined points in the second half ties a season low as La Salle and St. John's combined for just 40 in the first half back on Nov. 16. The Explorers made seven of eight free throws which made the difference as the Ramblers hit just five of 12 at the charity stripe.

The Ramblers benefitted on turnovers, scoring 16 points off of 24 Explorer miscues, but also recorded 15 turnovers themselves.

The Explorers take an 11-day layoff for finals and return to action on Monday, Dec. 19, at crosstown rival Drexel at 7 p.m.