Box Score

BRONX, N.Y. - Michea Bryant nailed a free throw with 2.7 seconds left and the La Salle women's basketball team escaped Rose Hill Gym with a 56-55 win over Fordham on Wednesday afternoon to complete a season sweep of the Rams.

Nadia Duncan tied the game-high scoring with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and pulled down a game-best seven rebounds. Brittany Wilson added 11 for the Explorers (10-12, 4-3 Atlantic 10).

Fordham's Charlotte Stoddart also had 15 points to lead the Rams (11-12, 2-6 Atlantic 10), including back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game at the end. Arielle Collins added 14 and Abigail Corning chipped in 12.

Neither team could get a jump on the other until midway through the second half, when a Wilson jumper sparked a 9-0 Explorer run to break a 38-38 tie at the 12:36 mark of the second half. Jada Payne capped the run with a trey to put the Explorers up 47-38 with seven minutes left and a three-point play by Duncan at 5:06 made it a 10-point Explorer lead at 52-42.

The Explorers held one more 10-point lead with 3:30 left when Duncan rolled in a layup, but the Rams made the end of the game interesting. Collins hit a three-pointer to cut the La Salle lead to seven and Becky Peters hit a jumper after a Bryant free throw to bring the home squad within six at 1:48. Stoddart then hit back-to-back triples to cap a Ram comeback and knot the game at 55-all with 33 seconds remaining.

Bryant drove in to attempt a layup and was fouled on the attempt with 2.7 seconds left. She converted the first of her two free throws, and a Ram desperation shot was off the mark, for the final 56-55 score.

The Explorers shot 43.4 percent (23-for-53) but just 3-of-10 from three-point territory. The Rams hit 46.0 percent of their shots (23-50) and were limited to just 4-of-16 from behind the arc. The Explorers won the rebounding battle 32-28, led by Duncan's seven.

The Explorers return home on Saturday (2/4) when they host Massachusetts at 7 p.m in Tom Gola Arena.