AMHERST, MASS. – La Salle women's basketball fought until the very in and topped Massachusetts thanks to two late free throw conversions by Makayla Miller. The Explorers now sit at 7-13 overall and 4-7 in conference play ahead of the match up with Dayton on Sunday.
 
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Explorers offense had a quick start on offense, thanks to Jolene Armendariz. The guard knocked down her first three of the game and got La Salle off to a quick 3-0 lead.
• From that point, however, the Massachusetts offense had a solid stretch offensively. A 12-0 run fueled by Lilly Taulelei gave the Minutewomen the control throughout the opening frame.
• To end the run, Armendariz hit her second shot from deep, cutting the Massachusetts lead in half. Aside from Armendariz, Gabby Turco provided a handful of free throws for La Salle as they found themselves down 17-11 entering the second.
• The Explorer offense gave Armendariz some help to open the second as Tiara Bolden secured a second-chance three-point shot and converted to make it a one possession game.
• Alexsia Rose, however, started to break things back open for the Minutewomen. The Minutewomen got back in top once leading by 14 before the half. The teams went to the break with UMass up 37-25.
• The Massachusetts offense remained to be a force to start the second half. Rose continued to put up points, but the Explorers continued to keep it close.
• Tiara Bolden and Armendariz had offensive contributions down the stretch of the third with Armendariz putting down two free throws to cut the lead to nine entering the fourth.
• The Explorers stormed back in the fourth right away. All of the points scored in the first three minutes of the fourth was by La Salle, all culminated by a game-changing shot by Nicole Melious.
• Struggling from three-point range the whole game, Melious had three shots from deep on one possession, missing all three. However, solid offensive rebounding by the Explorers allowed for Melious to shoot a fourth shot, this time knocking it down for the 50-47 lead.
• The Minutewomen got the lead back minutes later thanks to a pull-up jump shot by Tori Hyduke, but Bolden did not allow that lead to last.
• On the following offensive possession by La Salle, the junior knocked down a three to get the Explorers back on top 53-51.
• Melious followed that possession up with another three-point shot of her own, bringing the lead up to five with 2:03 remaining.
• Kristen Williams was the hot hand for the Minutewomen down the stretch of the game. With 15 seconds left on the clock, Williams hot a fast break three to bring Massachusetts within one, 59-58.
• Turco then hit a driving layup with eight seconds left to get La Salle up 61-58, but Williams repeated her actions on the next shot she took. She tied the contest up at 61 with a deep three-point shot with only four seconds remaining.
• On the ensuing in bound, Stefanie Kulesza fouled Makayla Miller, giving her the chance to seal the game for La Salle at the free-throw line. The graduate student knocked down both shots and got the Explorers the win.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Jolene Armendariz had a team-leading 16 points today, a season-high for her.
• Makayla Miller totaled 14 points, two of which being the crucial free-throws to win the game. This double-digit performance is the eighth in a row for Miller as she has scored 109 points in this eight-game stretch.
• Tiara Bolden was the third Explorer in double-digits today, contributing ten points in the win.
• After struggling on the glass, the last time out, La Salle 'rebounded' against Massachusetts and pulled in 39 boards, crucial in the victory.
• The time with the lead swayed heavily toward the Minutewomen, much like the last time out in this match up. Today, La Salle held the lead for only 6:13.

 
UP NEXT:

• The Explorers will return to Tom Gola Arena on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 2:00 p.m. for a meeting with the Dayton Flyers. This will be the team's Pride Game.
• Streaming on ESPN+ will start at 2:00 p.m. and can be followed using the Live Stats broadcast as well.