PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Explorers women's basketball fought until the very end of the contest against the Duquesne Dukes, but came up short 57-52. La Salle goes to 7-16 overall, 4-8 in conference this season.
 
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Explorers needed to get off to a quick start on the offensive end of the floor, and Nicole Melious provided that early spark. Melious answered a Duke three-pointer with one of her own.
• Ayanna Townsend added four points for Duquesne, helping on a 6-0 run for the Dukes, but freshman Amber Bullard righted the ship for La Salle adding two points of her own.
• The Dukes got up to a 13-8 lead, but the first of made shots made by Jolene Armendariz got La Salle within two points. Armendariz followed that three-point shot up with another one to end the first quarter, La Salle had the lead 14-13.
• To start the second, Duquesne got off to a 5-0 run, capturing the lead back. A theme throughout the second frame was free throws. Precious Johnson and Megan McConnell each had plenty of opportunities from the charity stripe, getting the Dukes back on top with a sizable lead.
• Emma Egan, however, gave her efforts to close the gap with a three-point shot with less than a minute remaining in the half, La Salle cut the Duquesne lead to three with that shot. A McConnell three-point shot, however, would send the teams to the break with Duquesne on top 28-23.
• Early on in the third, Duquesne was able to extend their lead, making it an uphill battle for La Salle the rest of the way. Armendariz was able to keep the Explorers in it, however, adding nine points of her own in the third.
• The fourth started off with Duquesne getting up by 13 with 8:46 remaining. Gabby Turco ended the run for the Dukes in historic fashion. A foul by Precious Johnson brought Turco to the line where she sunk her 1,000^th and 1,001^st points of her career.
• Makayla Miller and Molly Masciantonio went back-to-back possessions scoring three-point shots which brought La Salle within nine with 7:15 left.
• Melious scored her seventh and eighth points with 3:30 remaining, cutting the Duke lead to five.
• With the clock ticking and under a minute remaining, the Explorers had the best shot of the game with 34 seconds left. A missed three-point shot by Tess Meyers allowed Armendariz to pull in the rebound, find Miller up the court, who then passed it to Melious for the bucket (DUQ 55, LAS 52).
• That would be the best and final chance La Salle had at tying the game up, as McConnell would sink two free throws to put the game away.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Gabby Turco became the 28^th person in La Salle women's basketball history to amount to 1,000 points scored in their career. Turco scored 860 points in two seasons at Saint Anslem before joining the Explorers.
• Makayla Miller would end her double-digit scoring streak at ten games, scoring only nine points in the loss today.
• Jolene Armendariz would score 15 points and lead La Salle today. She has scored double-digit points three of the last four times she's been out.
• The Explorer defense would hold one of the best shooters for Duquesne, Tess Meyers, to only two points and 0-7 from beyond the arch.
• La Salle would have another tough day from three-point range, only converting eight of 33 attempts.

 
UP NEXT:

• The Explorers will be back on the road next Wednesday, Feb. 14 for a match up with the George Washington Revolutionaries at 6:00 p.m.