PHILADELPHIA - Duquesne used a 20-8 run midway through the second half to pull away from a tied ballgame as the La Salle women's basketball squad dropped a 72-66 decision to the Dukes on Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena.
Micahya Owens led the Explorers (12-12, 3-8 Atlantic 10) with 17 points on 8-for-15 shooting.
Siobhan Beslow added 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
Jasmine Alston chipped in 11 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The Dukes' Amadea Szamosi was unstoppable in the second half, draining 18 of her game-high 24 points. She went 10-for-12 from the field. April Robinson added 16 points, Jose-Ann Johnson scored 11 and Belma Nurkic chipped in 10.
Duquesne (16-8, 8-3 Atlantic 10) led by as many as 13 in the first half and held a 33-27 halftime advantage. The Dukes drained the first two buckets out of the break to push their lead back to 10 at 37-27, but the Explorers chipped away at that lead over the next six minutes. The Explorers outscored the Dukes 17-7 in that span to knot the game at 44-44 with 12:01 on the clock, but could not get over that hump to take a lead.Â
Duquesne's Robinson hit one of her four three-pointers on the night to spark the deciding 20-8 run as the visitors regained a 12-point lead at 66-54 with 3:38 remaining. The Explorers hit the next five points thanks to two Owens buckets and an
Amy Griffin free throw, but the Dukes regained a 10-point lead twice down the stretch to put the game out of reach. The Explorers scored the final four points of the night for the final 72-66 tally.
The Explorers put together a solid game against the Dukes, shooting 42.6 percent overall and 80.0 percent (12-15) at the free throw line. They also forced Duquesne into 22 turnovers while committing just 17.
The Dukes ended up with the advantage from long range (6-for-16) and went 16-for-20 from the charity stripe.
The Explorers head back to Richmond for the second time in two weeks, taking on the Spiders on Saturday at 4 p.m. They return home next Thursday (2/19) for the second matchup of the season with Rhode Island.
