Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Defending America East champion Albany raced out to a 16-3 lead and never looked back as the La Salle women's basketball squad suffered a 75-36 defeat at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday night.

Ebonee Jones was the lone Explorer in double figures, netting 13 points and adding two blocks and two steals. Albany's Ebone Henry led all scorers wtih 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and Shereesha Richards and Megan Craig added 17 apiece off the bench. Shanel Harrison and Albany's Julie Forster tied for the game rebounding lead with seven each.

The Explorers (1-8) limited Forster, who scored 26 points and pulled down 20 boards in last year's meeting, to just five points but could not overcome Albany's 58.8 percent shooting.

Albany (6-2) scored the first four points of the game before Jones hit a three at 16:54. That was the closest the Explorers got as the Great Danes mounted a 12-0 run to go up 16-3 with 9:16 on the clock in the first half.

A Michea Bryant trey at 5:13 got the Explorers within nine at 21-12 but Albany pushed its lead back to double digits and never relinquished that margin. The Great Danes took a 28-14 halftime lead while holding Explorer sharpshooter Brittany Wilson (21.5 ppg) scoreless in the first half.

Albany shot 58.8 percent (30-for-51) from the field and went 4-for-7 from 3-point range. The Explorers struggled offensively, hitting just 21.3 percent (13-for-61). The Great Danes outrebounded the home squad 44-27, while the turnover margin was even at 22 each.

The Explorers have an 11-day layoff for finals and return to action when they host Florida on Sunday, Dec. 16, at 1 p.m.