Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle women's basketball team kept rolling on Saturday, snagging its sixth straight win with a 63-51 victory over Xavier at Tom Gola Arena behind three players in double figures.

Brittany Wilson drained 28 points, with 15 of those coming from beyond the arc, while Nadia Duncan netted 14 on 6-for-8 shooting and Jada Payne chipped in 10. Ruvanna Campbell pulled down a game-high-tying nine rebounds and also provided four steals, two blocks and two assists. Her two blocks move her into a tie for sixth place all-time on the single season record list.

The Explorers are now 3-0 in Atlantic 10 play, the first time since the 1996-97 season that the squad opened league play at 3-0. The squad also pulled its overall record to an even 9-9.

Xavier drops to 3-13 overall, 0-3 in the Atlantic 10.

Things boded well for the Explorers from the start when they won the opening tip. The squad entered today's contest 7-1 when gaining the first possession.

Xavier's Jessica Pachko opened the game's scoring with two free throws before the Explorers went on a 9-2 run fueled by Wilson's first five points of the day along with Duncan and Alexis Scott jumpers.

The Musketeers answered with a 5-0 spurt to draw even and went ahead 15-14 on a Pachko layup at the 9:58 mark. Wilson nailed another triple 14 seconds later to put the Blue & Gold back on top and the squad extended its lead to as many as eight on three different occasions in the rest of the first half. The Explorers led 31-23 with 2:03 to go in the first half but the Musketeers pulled within five on an Amber Gray three-point play for a 31-26 halftime score.

Wilson opened the second half with a three to spark an 11-4 Explorer run out of the break to go up 42-30 at the 17:32 mark. However, Xavier responded with a 14-2 run over the next seven minutes to draw even at 44-44 but never went ahead of the Explorers for the remainder of the game. Duncan rolled in a layup at 9:30, sparking a 12-2 Explorer run to put the home squad ahead for good.

Wilson capped off the 12-2 run with her fifth trey of the game to push the Explorer lead back to double digits (56-46) with 6:02 on the clock. A Sabrina Johnson three-point play brought the visitors within five with 1:30 remaining but Scott sank four straight free throws to give the Explorers a nine-point cushion. Wilson hit a free throw and Campbell sank two for the final 63-51 score.

Although the Explorers were hounded on the boards (41-30), they won the turnover battle by a wide margin. They forced 21 Musketeer miscues, which turned into 23 La Salle points, while commiting just seven for the game.

Overall, the Explorers shot 37.3 percent (22-of-59) and Xavier shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56). The Explorers hit seven of 20 treys and limited the Musketeers to just three of 14.

La Salle takes its show on the road with a noon contest at Charlotte on Wednesday (1/18) followed by a trip to Richmond next Saturday (1/21).