PHILADELPHIA – La Salle fought off St. Bonaventure, holding on for a 55-49 win over the second-place Bonnies in a matchup critical for the seeding in next week's Atlantic 10 Tournament.
 
The Explorers wrap up the regular season  at an even 14-14 and conclude with a 9-7 A-10 record. The nine wins in conference play is the most since the 1996-97 squad went 12-4, and marks the first over-.500 conference record since that season.

Alicia Cropper led the Explorers with 17 points and eight rebounds. Leeza Burdgess added 13 on 6-for-8 shooting, and Jasmine Alston added 11 points, eight rebounds and a game-high four assists.

SBU's Katie Healy led all scorers with 22 points, and Hannah Little added a double-double of 11 points and 16 rebounds.

"It was a big win for us today; we beat a very good St. Bonaventure team," Head Coach Jeff Williams said. "They're tough to guard, they're well-coached, and I thought our kids played well. I thought it was a team effort, different people stepped up. [Leeza] Burdgess and Jess Koci, our seniors, were huge today on the offensive end and Jess got some big steals, big rebounds and a big basket. Jasmine Alston continues to get better at the point position. Micahya Owens didn't have a great game but her presence is huge on the court. Alicia Cropper has been steady."

Burdgess and Koci were honored in a pregame ceremony as part of the program's annual Senior Day. Both started the contest and made big impacts in a special win.

"Today was so special to me for a number of reasons," Burdgess said. "We defeated the second-ranked team in the conference; we are looking forward to a great placement in the A-10 tournament; and we have a solid chance at postseason play. I couldn't have asked for a more amazing senior year!"

"These past four years, La Salle basketball has been a major part of my life," Koci said. "It is sad that this chapter of my life is [nearing a close], but I'm glad we went out with a great win on Senior Day."

The Explorer defense once again was stellar, holding the Bonnies to just 49 points and only 14.3 percent (2-for 14) from long range. The Bonnies' 49 points was their lowest point total since they lost 88-39 to No. 1 Connecticut on Nov. 24.

"I think our defense has been carrying us. Our offense is day-to-day, but defense has to be every day and that's what we preach," Williams added. "We've been doing a very good job on the defensive end."

The outset of the game was slow, with the score tied just 6-6 at the first media timeout and the Explorers up 10-6 at the second media timeout at 11:48. The Bonnies pulled ahead 13-12 shortly after, but Alston responded with a nifty layup in the paint to put the Explorers ahead for good with around nine minutes left in the first half.

The Explorers pushed their lead to eight twice at 23-15 and 25-17 until a Bonnies' 5-0 spurt brought the visitors within 25-22 with 1:56 until halftime. Cropper drained two free throws to go back up five and then swished a three with 34 seconds remaining to give the Explorers a 30-22 halftime lead.

Cropper opened the second half with a layup to give the Explorers their first double-digit lead at 32-22 and they pushed the advantage to 13 at 37-24 with 17:40 on the clock.

The pesky Bonnies cut the La Salle lead back to single digits when Healy went inside for a layup at 9:03 to get within eight at 42-34. The visitors kept chipping away and got within five on two Healy free throws with 4:46 remaining in the game.

Freshman Lisa Mintzer picked up two offensive boards and converted a terrific putback on the second rebound to go back up seven and Owens hit a short jumper to give the Explorers a 50-41 lead with 3:56 to go.

A La Salle turnover with just over a minute left gave the Bonnies the ball on their end of the court, which Healy hit with 1:03 to get back within five at 50-45.

The Bonnies were forced to foul at that point, but the Explorers struggled at the free throw line to get the Bonnies the ball back. SBU's Chelsea Bowker attempted a three with 45 seconds on the clock, but missed and Burdgess picked up the rebound.

The Bonnies fouled Cropper at midcourt and a scuffle led to a technical being assessed on SBU's Hannah Little. Beslow took the one-and-one, missing the front end. Owens took the two technical shots, making the second to push the Explorer lead to 51-45 with 38 seconds on the clock. The Explorers got the possession after the technical and Burdgess pushed the lead back to eight on a layup in the paint.

SBU's Emily Michael went to the line and hit two free throws after being fouled with 25 seconds left to get back within 53-47. A foul on Cropper yielded another Explorer point.

Healy got one more bucket with 13 seconds left to draw within 54-49, but Owens made the first of two free throws after being fouled to get to 55-49 with 11 seconds left. Kelcie Rombach attempted a trey that was off the mark and the score stood up.

Neither team shot well today, with the Explorers going 35.6 percent and the Bonnies hitting 35.3 percent from the field. The Explorers struggled again at the free throw line, hitting just 10 of 19, while the Bonnies went 11-for-14.

The teams were even in rebounding, with both squads pulling down 37 boards. SBU committed 15 turnovers while the Explorers committed 11.

With several more Atlantic 10 games on tap for Sunday, the tournament pairings will be released on Sunday night. The tournament begins on Thursday at the Richmond Coliseum.

"We're excited about the A-10's coming up and feel like we've competed against everyone very well and had opportunities to win some games and we beat some good teams," Williams said. "I feel good about it and we're just looking forward to going to Richmond."


 

 


More to follow...