(XML) | Box score (PDF) | La Salle Postgame Press Conference | Atlantic 10 Championship Central

RICHMOND, Va. - Save for an early 2-2 tie, the seventh-seeded La Salle women's basketball squad led 10th-seeded Saint Louis the entire way en route to a 65-56 first round win in the Atlantic 10 Championship at the Richmond Coliseum on Thursday evening.

The Explorers move on to the quarterfinal round, where they will face second-seeded St. Bonaventure on Friday at 5 p.m.

Micahya Owens tied her career high with 23 points to lead all scorers, the second time in three games that she hit the 23-point mark. Alicia Cropper drained 20 points while dishing out a game-high five assists and pulling down five rebounds. Leeza Burdgess added her seventh double-double of the season, chipping in 10 points while pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds. Jasmine Alston added 12 rebounds and chipped in seven points.

Desirae Ball led the Billikens with 16 points. Denisha Womack added 12 off the bench and Olivia Jakubicek chipped in 10.

The Explorers improve to 15-14, while the Billikens' season concludes at 12-18.

The Explorers shot 40.0 percent for the game and had a terrific night at the free throw line, going 20-for-26. They also once again limited their opponent to a dismal showing from three-point range, as the Explorers held the Billikens to just 3-for-22 from long range. The Billikens shot 33.8 percent overall and 9-for-11 from the charity stripe.

They also crashed the boards, outrebounding the Billikens 47-31.

" \I think we played very well defensively," Head Coach Jeff Williams said in the postgame press conference. "We typically don't give up threes, that's one of our big things. We try to take the three-point shot away. Saint Louis plays very hard, they have some kids who can floor the ball and hurt you. I think overall we did an outstanding job defensively. Micahya Owens [and] Alicia Cropper stepped up on the offensive end, Leeza Burdgess was huge for us getting 13 rebounds and 10 points. It was a tough game, it was one of those grinding games, and I'm glad we came out on top."

The Explorers won the tip and got the game's first points on two Cropper free throws just 13 seconds into the game. The teams traded baskets early, with the Explorers up 12-10 at 13:04, before going on a 14-3 run to take a 26-13 lead with 6:56 until halftime.

They pushed the lead to as many as 14 at 32-18 with 4:06 on the clock but the Billikens outscored the Explorers 6-3 down the stretch for a 35-24 halftime score.

SLU jumped out of the halftime gate on a 9-2 run to draw within four at 37-33 with 17:29 on the clock. However, the Explorer defense clamped down again, and although the Billikens stayed within single digits save for a quick 11-point 57-46 Explorer lead, would not get closer than that down the stretch.

The Explorers return to action tomorrow for a 5 p.m. quarterfinal against the No. 2 Bonnies.