Box Score

RIVERDALE, N.Y.  - La Salle used a 19-4 run midway through the second half to erase an eight-point deficit and take the lead for good in a 72-62 nonconference win at Manhattan on Sunday afternoon.

Khristin Lee and Alicia Cropper led the Explorers (1-2) with 17 points each, and Micahya Owens added 12. Siobhan Beslow chipped in a near double-double with nine points and a game-high eight rebounds. Manhattan's (1-3) Monica Roeder led all scorers with 18 points. Ashley Stec added 14 for the Jaspers.

The Explorers crashed the boards today, outrebounding the Jaspers 44-29. They also forced the home squad into 22 turnovers to 18 Explorers miscues.

The first half featured six ties and four lead changes as neither team could make much headway in the contest. With the score knotted at 9-9, the Explorers mounted a 9-2 spurt thanks to three straight Indigo Dickens baskets and an Owens bucket. to take an 18-11 lead at the 10:03 point. Dickens finished with seven points in the contest, all on those three baskets plus a made free throw in that run.

Manhattan took a timeout, and responded with a 17-6 run to regain the lead at 28-24 shortly before the break. The squads traded baskets into halftime, as the Jaspers maintained a two-point 30-28 advantage at the break.

Manhattan controlled play early in the second half, taking its biggest lead at 41-33 with 14:14 on the clock.

Leeza Burdgess converted a layup in the paint at 13:58, sparking a 19-4 run over the next four minutes, capped by a Cropper jumper at 10:03, to take a 52-45 lead.

Lee shined in that span, leading the charge with nine of her 17 points. She put an exclamation point on that with a huge steal at midcourt followed by a breakaway layup to send the Explorer bench into a frenzy.

Cropper also added six points in that span on two field goals and two made free throws, and Burdgess scored four of her six points in that stretch and also came up with a big stop under the Jasper basket.

Manhattan edged back within one with an 8-2 spurt, but that was the closest the home squad would get down the stretch. The Explorers responded with a decisive 11-2 run to push their lead to 10 at 65-55 with 2:22 on the clock. Owens drained eight of her 12 points in that decisive stretch.

The Explorer offense turned it up today, shooting over 40 percent for the first time this season with a 40.3 percent clip. The Explorers shot just 56.7 percent from the free throw line, going 17-for-30, but were helped by the fact that the Jaspers only made it to the line nine times. Manhattan went 45.5 percent from the field and a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line.

The squad faces a quick turnaround, with a game at Fairfield tomorrow at 7 p.m. The Explorers return home on Saturday (11/30) for a 1 p.m. game against Central Connecticut.