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PHILADELPHIA - Alicia Cropper drained 16 of her game-high 24 points in the first half to help La Salle stake out an early 12-point lead over the rv/#22 Dayton Flyers, but the Flyers stormed back and held on for an 84-69 final score at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday evening.

Micahya Owens added 14 for the Explorers (12-14, 7-7 Atlantic 10) and Jasmine Alston chipped in 10 along with a team-best six assists.

Amber Deane led a quartet of Flyers (19-5, 12-1 Atlantic 10) in double figures with 22 points and a game-high eight assists. Andrea Hoover added 19. Ally Malott recorded a double-double of 17 points and game-high 15 rebounds, and Celeste Edwards added 12 second-half points.

The Explorers jumped out to an early lead. After winning the tip, Cropper got things started with a three-pointer just 10 seconds into the contest.. Alston and Leeza Burdgess drained buckets for a 7-1 lead at 17:12.

The Flyers did not get their first field goal until 16:26, a Deane layup in the paint.

Siobhan Beslow responded with a clean jumper at 16:16 to give the Explorers a 9-3 lead and force a Dayton timeout.

Deane hit another bucket out of the timeout, but the Explorers responded with a 13-5 run over the next four-plus minutes to gain their largest lead of the game, 22-10 at 11:11.

Dayton scored the next four points to draw within 22-14, but Deja Bullock picked up a big steal  with 8:55 on the clock and hit a breakaway layup to regain the double-digit lead. Following two Flyer free throws at 8:43, Cropper scored again with 8:28 on the clock for a 26-16 advantage. That was the final double-digit lead of the night for the Explorers.

The Flyers mounted a 12-0 run, sparked by a Deane three-pointer at 8:13, to gain their first lead of the game at 28-26 with 6:13 until halftime.

Indigo Dickens found the net to tie it at 28-28 and spark a 6-0 spurt capped by a Cropper jumper at 4:00 to take a 32-28 lead.

The squads traded baskets until a Malott breakaway layup sparked an 11-0 run to finish out the half as the Flyers took a 41-34 lead into halftime. The Explorers were held scoreless over the final 3:35 of the half.

The Explorers got within two at 44-42 thanks to an Owens jumper at 17:09, but a 10-1 Dayton run over the next four minutes gave the visitors a 54-43 lead.

Cropper broke up the run with a made free throw at 12:54 and Alston found Lisa Mintzer in the paint to get back within single digits but the Flyers once again responded to push their lead to 67-53 with 8:13 remaining.

The Explorers never bowed out, mounting an 8-0 run sparked by an Alston bucket at 8:03 and capped by a Beslow bucket at 5:39 put draw within 67-61. That was the closest the Explorers would get down the stretch as the Flyers outscored the home squad 17-10 the rest of the way.

The Explorers shot well from the field, going 41.1 percent on the night, but struggled from long range. They made just 2-of 14 from beyond the arc. Dayton went 46.3 percent from the field and 3-for-8 from long range.

The Flyers also dominated the boards, outrebounding La Salle 48-38. They also made 19 of 26 free throws, while the Explorers were limited to a 7-for-12 outing at the charity stripe.

The Explorers have a bye weekend and will be back in action next Wednesday when they travel to Duquesne for a 7 p.m. tipoff.