Explorers Win Blue Sky Classic Opener, Top Dartmouth 54-43

Box Score HANOVER, N.H. - La Salle used a 17-2 run through the first half to take control in a 54-43 win over Dartmouth in the opening game of the Blue Sky Classic at Leede Arena on Sunday evening.

Leeza Burdgess recorded her second double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Alicia Cropper led all scorers with 13 points, and Khristin Lee added 11 points.

Lee, the Atlantic 10 steals leader, snagged five thefts on the night to lead all players. She also contributed six rebounds. Deja Bullock chipped in six points while pulling down a season- and career-high-tying seven rebounds, and snagged the first two steals of her career.

Lakin Roland led the Big Green (1-10) with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Abbey Schmitt chipped in 10 points.

The Explorers (5-6) limited Dartmouth's leading scorer Fanni Szabo to five points. Szabo entered the game second in the Ivy League with 18.8 ppg.

Dartmouth drew first blood on a Milica Toskovic three-pointer out of the gate and Schmitt added a free throw to put the home squad up 4-0 within the first minute of play. Burdgess got the Explorers on the board just over a minute later with a layup in the paint.

With the score at 4-2 at the 18:09 mark, neither squad found the basket again for over three and a half minutes. Lee knotted things up at 4-4 and Schmitt responded with a traditional three-point play for a 7-4 Big Green lead at 14:12.

The squads traded baskets again to give the Big Green a 9-7 lead at 11:46. Just over a minute later, Lee ran in a layup to spark the deciding 17-2 run and give the Explorers a 24-11 advantage with 2:46 until the break. The Blue & Gold limited Dartmouth to just one field goal over the final 11 minutes of the first half and led 24-14 at the break. The 14 first-half points were the lowest given up by the Explorers in one half this season.

Owens and Siobhan Beslow nailed back-to-back jumpers to start the second half as the Explorers doubled up on the Big Green, 28-14 at 18:08.

Dartmouth broke up the run with back-to-back layups by Roland and Schmitt, but the Big Green could not break the 10-point barrier. They finally did at the 10:57 mark on a Toskovic three-pointer and jumper to draw within seven at 35-28. That was the closest the Explorers allowed the home squad down the stretch as a Cropper three-point play pushed the lead back to 10, and the squad held a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.

The nine first-half steals was more than the Explorers snagged in the last six games and they finished with a season-high 14. They also outrebounded Dartmouth 45-35.

The squad struggled at the free throw line, hitting just 12 of 25 freebies.

The Explorers shot 37.0 percent from the field and were limited to 2-of-7 from long range. They held Dartmouth to 28.8 percent from the field and a scant 3-for-23 from three-point range.

The team returns to action tomorrow night, tipping off against Binghamton at 5 p.m. The Bearcats were winners over Massachusetts in their opener on Sunday.

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