Box Score (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle held off a late Rhode Island comeback attempt as the Explorers defeated the Rams 47-45 at Tom Gola Arena on Thursday evening.

The Explorers (13-13, 4-9 Atlantic 10) used a nine-point 47-38 cushion to withstand a four-minute scoring drought to close the game, and the defense forced two missed Ram shots and a turnover in the final minute to hold the Rams at bay. The win avenged an earlier season loss to the Rams, who had won their previous two games over 2014 NCAA qualifiers Saint Joseph's and Fordham.

Micahya Owens led all scorers with 14 points, and added four steals, three rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot to her stat line. 

Amy Griffin chipped in 12 points, all in the second half, to help the Explorers come from behind and build that nine-point cushion.

Lisa Mintzer saw 26 minutes tonight, chipping in four points and grabbing a career-high nine rebounds and a career-high-tying four blocks.

URI's Charise Wilson led the Rams (15-10, 7-6 Atlantic 10) with 12 points as the Explorers held the nation's second-leading freshman scorer to 4.5 points under her season average of 16.5 ppg. Samantha Tabakman chipped in 10 points, along with eight rebounds and three blocks.

Tonight's game was true to form for the Explorers and Rams. Neither squad has cracked 55 points in any of the previous four contests.

The Rams jumped out to a 16-7 lead just over 11 minutes into the game, which proved their largest lead of the contest. The Explorers responded with a 7-0 run to draw within two at the five-minute mark, and got within one at 20-19 with 1:14 on the clock. The Rams hit the final four points of the first half on two Tabakman free throws and a Wilson layup at the buzzer to take a 24-19 halftime lead.

The Rams pushed their lead to 26-21 just under a minute into the second half on a Tabakman layup, but the Explorers responded with an 8-2 run to take their first lead since early on at 29-28 thanks to a long Owens three-pointer.

The squads traded buckets until the Explorers took the lead for good on back-to-back Griffin layups to put the score at 37-34. Following a Sydney Lewis jumper for URI at 9:05, the Explorers went on a 10-2 run over the next five minutes to gain a 47-38 lead with 4:23 to go. Griffin capped that run by tossing an inbounds pass into the basket with two seconds on the shot clock and converting the and-one opportunity.

Those were the Explorers' final points of the game. Though the Rams had opportunities, Mintzer recorded three of her four blocked shots in a one-minute span to keep the Rams at bay. Symone Bullard hit two free throws at 2:15 to get within seven, and Wilson drained a three with 1:28 on the clock to get within 47-43.

The Explorers missed two free throws late, but time ran out on the Rams to complete a comeback. Lewis grabbed an offensive board with four seconds and converted the putback with just two seconds on the clock for what proved the final score. 

Both squads struggled mightily from the field, with URI going 32.7 percent and La Salle hitting 31.1 percent. The Explorers also held the Rams to just 3-for-19 from long range.

The Explorers and Rams finished a deadlocked 41-41 on the boards, and the Explorers won the turnover battle again by forcing 16 Ram miscues to 12 Explorer turnovers.

The Explorers return to action on Sunday when they head to Dayton. Tipoff at UD Arena is set for 2 p.m.