• Box Score (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA – Alicia Cropper sank two free throws to break a deadlock with 2.1 seconds remaining as the La Salle women's basketball squad defeated Massachusetts 71-69 at Tom Gola Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Explorers (12-11, 3-7 Atlantic 10) used a well-balanced offensive attack to keep the Minutewomen at bay, with four players reaching double figures. Amy Griffin put together a terrific all-around performance. The rookie went 8-for-12 en route to a team-high 17 points, while contributing six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal.
 
Micahya Owens scored 12 points, all in the second half, and chipped in four boards and two steals. 

Siobhan Beslow continued to be consistent from the field, going 5-for-10 en route to 10 points. Ebony Wells was also efficient, sinking five of her nine attempts for 10 points in 15 minutes of play.
 
UM's Kim Pierre-Louis was nearly unstoppable and was the reason the score stayed close throughout. Pierre-Louis drained 33 points, with 23 of those in the first half. She finished 14-for-18 from the field, and added a game-high nine rebounds. She outscored the rest of her teammates combined for the majority of the contest. Emily Mital added 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting from long range, with nine of those points coming late in the game.

Pierre-Louis powered UM (8-14, 2-8 Atlantic 10) to a 34-32 halftime lead, owning 23 of the 34 points on 11-for-12 shooting. The Explorers held the rest of the UM squad to 4-for-13 in the first stanza.

The Explorers caught up to UM twice early in the second half, but could not get ahead. UM held a 42-38 lead with a Maggie Mulligan layup at 14:58, but a Khristin Lee three-pointer sparked a 16-7 Explorer run over the next four minutes to give the Blue & Gold a five-point 54-49 advantage.

The Explorers led by as many as seven, with a 66-59 lead with 3:52 remaining but Mital nailed back-to-back treys to bring the visitors back within one. Cierra Dillard added another three-pointer a minute later as UM regained a 68-66 lead with 2:18 on the clock. 

Griffin picked up an offensive rebound 30 seconds later and fed it to Jasmine Alston for a jumper to knot the score at 68-68 with 1:44 to go. Alston hit one of two free throws a few seconds later for a 69-68 lead but an Explorer foul at 1:07 put Pierre-Louis on the line for two. She hit the second of two shots for the 69-69 tie.

UM did not get another field goal attempt down the stretch, but the score remained tied thanks to a missed jumper and two missed free throws with 46 seconds left. The Explorers then forced the Minutewomen into a turnover with 16 seconds left.

With overtime looming, UM's Leah McDerment fouled Cropper with 2.1 seconds remaining. Cropper calmly sank both freebies, and a UM desperation heave was off the mark for the final 71-69 score.

The Explorers went 44.1 percent from the field, but were limited to 4-for-19 from long range and 7-for-16 at the charity stripe. UM went 54.9 percent from the field; however, when not including Pierre-Louis' numbers, the rest of the team went 42.4 percent. The Minutewomen went 7-for-18 from long ragne and just 6-for-13 at the free throw line.

The Explorers dominated the boards, 39-29, and forced the Minutewomen into 22 turnovers. 

The Explorers were once again terrific on passing the ball around, recording 20 assists on 30 field goals while committing just 15 turnovers.
 
The team returns to action on Wednesday when Duquesne pays a visit to Tom Gola Arena for a 7 p.m. tipoff.