PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle women's basketball team sealed their fifth straight win, a 64-59 defeat of UMKC, by outscoring the Kangaroos 17-10 in the 4^th quarter on Wednesday afternoon at Tom Gola Arena.
 
"This is a good win for us," said head coach Jeff Williams. "We're maturing, we could've quit but we didn't, we kept digging and kept fighting and came out with the victory."
 
Amy Griffin had a season-high 27 points to lead the Explorers, finishing 11-20 from the field with seven rebounds. Adreana Miller and Jasmine Alston also finished in double figures for La Salle, going for 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
In a game that saw 13 lead changes, the Explorers wiped away a four-point deficit early in the 4^th quarter with four unanswered points to tie the game at 51-51 on a jumper from Miller with 7:05 left. A Lisa Mintzer jumper gave the Explorers a 53-51 lead with 6:28 before the Kangaroos scored five straight to retake the lead.
 
Miller drilled a three to knot the game at 56-56 and spark an 11-3 La Salle run to put the game away. Alston had three assists, four points and two steals during the game-deciding run. The senior had game highs in both rebounds (nine) and assists (eight).
 
The Explorers are now winners of eight of their last nine as they resume A-10 play on Sunday at VCU.
 
"It's huge," said Williams of winning the final nonconference game of 2016. "We play a very tough VCU team, who we know is going to get after it defensively and push the tempo, but we're excited to get into A-10 play."