PHILADELPHIA - A nail-biter down to the end, the La Salle women's basketball squad withstood six lead changes in the final minutes of the game to take a 65-64 decision over Howard in the home opener on Saturday at Tom Gola Arena.

Micahya Owens was unstoppable early, scoring a team-high 21 points, all of which came in the first half.

Ebony Wells had a breakout game, recording a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. She added two assists and a blocked shot as well. Amy Griffin added 11 points, three rebounds and a blocked shot, and went 3-for-5 from the field.

Howard's Cheyenne Brown led all scorers with 24 points. Imani Bailey added 11 and Katrina Reeves contributed 10 for the Bison (0-3).

The Explorers (1-2) jumped out to a 40-29 lead at the half, thanks to 52.0 percent shooting in the first stanza. That included Owens' 7-for-9 performance, including 4-for-5 from long range. With the Explorers up just three (32-39) with about two minutes remaining, the squad went on an 8-0 run to finish the half, capped by Owens nailing a buzzer-beating three from nearly mid-court.

The Explorers pushed their lead to 13 after the break, thanks to back-to-back Wells buckets, but the Bison started chipping away at the lead as the Explorer offense went cold. Howard tied the game at 55-55 with 5:13 on the clock and took the first lead with a Brown trey at 4:48. 

Jasmine Alston and Siobhan Beslow scored consecutive baskets to put the Explorers back in the lead, 59-58, but the teams traded buckets and leads down the stretch. With the Explorers trailing 64-63, they got a break when Howard's Hannah Timmons missed both free throws with 13 seconds remaining. Alston grabbed the rebound on the second missed shot, and fed it to Griffin who made the fastbreak layup with nine seconds remaining.

The Bison had one more opportunity as Victoria Gonzales grabbed a rebound on her own missed layup, but Owens sealed the game with a steal after Gonzales' pickup.

The Explorers settled for a 36.4 percent shooting performance after going 52 percent in the first half. They also went a total of 6-for-11 from long range and 11-for-19 at the free throw line. The Bison went 35.5 percent from the field, and hit 9 of 18 three-point attempts. They went 11-for-20 at the charity stripe.

The Explorers remain at home on Tuesday, hosting Manhattan in a noon time tipoff.