Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Senior Brittany Wilson picked right up where she left off last season, pouring in a game-high 22 points in the season opener against Loyola Chicago on Sunday afternoon at Tom Gola Arena, but it was the Ramblers who came away with the 56-50 decision.

The Explorers never trailed in the first half, building an eight-point lead when Ebonee Jones made a jumper at 13:05 to put the home squad up 16-8. The Ramblers responded with a 14-7 run behind six of Simone Law's 11 points to pull within 23-22 with 7:01 until the half.

The Explorers clamped down to hold the Ramblers scoreless for the rest of the half while Jordan Mosley and Karynda DuPree added layups to put the Blue & Gold up 27-22 at the break.

The Ramblers netted the first nine points of the second half to take a four-point lead at 31-27 and never relinquished the lead after that. The visitors built a 13-point lead on a Lyndsey Booker jumper to go up 52-39 with 4:11 on the clock.

The Explorers mounted a furious rally with under 2:30 to go. Mosley sparked an 11-1 run with a jumper at 2:29 and capped that rally with two made free throws with 56 ticks remaining to pull the team within 53-50. However, a disputed out-of-bounds call gave the Ramblers possession with under 30 seconds, and Taylor Johnson converted a layup to put the game out of reach. She added a free throw with four seconds for the final 56-50 score.

Cold shooting at the free throw line was the difference in the end, as the Ramblers went 16-for-21 at the charity stripe and the Explorers hit just 5-of-15. Neither squad consistently shot the ball from the field, with the Explorers shooting 32.2 percent and holding the Ramblers to just 28.1 percent. The Explorers also committed 21 turnovers, with the Ramblers scoring 16 points off the miscues. The Ramblers also committed 13 of their own, which the Explorers turned into 14 points.

The Ramblers owned a slim 48-45 edge on the boards, with Law and Patrice King pulling down nine each. Wilson added eight boards for the Explorers, as did freshman Arielle Ward in her collegiate debut.

La Salle sticks around in Philadelphia for two more home games before hitting the road next Tuesday. The Explorers host Northeastern on Thursday (11/15) at 7 p.m., and Drexel on Saturday (11/17) at 1 p.m.