Explorers top Fordham

By Anthony Bonagura
Collegian Staff
February 21, 2007

The La Salle women’s basketball team traveled to the Bronx on Saturday to meet up with A-10 rival Fordham. The Explorers rose to the challenge and finished victoriously in an arduous battle, winning the game 66-54.

Junior Carlene Hightower fires a jump shot on Saturday at Fordham’s Rose Hill Gym. - Mike Dao

This was not the first time the two teams faced each other this season. The Explorers and Rams met up at the Tom Gola Arena on Jan. 9 when La Salle won, 80-65. In that game, the Explorers had an outstanding 40 points from the bench, which served as a significant contribution to the victory.

The win on Saturday gave La Salle (17-10, 5-7) its ninth road win of the season, the most since it achieved 10 in the 1991-92 season.

The Explorers started off slow in the first half, only making nine total field goals and going 36 percent from the floor. The Explorers, normally a reliable three-point team, were held to two-for-10 from behind the arc, shooting a mere 20 percent.

“We talked about [the first half shooting woes] and we’re good shooters, and I said we were going to get the same looks in the second half,” La Salle head coach Tom Lochner said. “I told the team just be ready, just get your feet underneath you and you’ll knock them down in the second half, and fortunately we did.”

Senior Crista Ricketts (16.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg) shot seven-for-11 in the win, scoring a team-high 18 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. She recorded her 21st double-double of the season and also become the sixth player in La Salle history to record at least 400 points (454) and 200 rebounds (203) in a season. Junior Carlene Hightower (17.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg) is right behind Ricketts, and she only needs seven more rebounds to join that club. No duo in La Salle history has ever attained 400 points and 200 rebounds each in the same season. Hightower can very well achieve this accomplishment with two games remaining.

In the first half, Fordham was executing all the right offensive strategies, scoring on the post and launching high-percentage threes.

Unfortunately for the Explorers, they could not find an answer. However, as the first half was winding down, senior Jenna Graber (6.8 ppg, 43 percent 3pt-fg) hit a much needed three to cut La Salle’s deficit to four, 27-23. The Explorers called a timeout and then right after, they made two consecutive defensive stops, which resulted in two shot clock expirations for Fordham.

“The first 16 minutes of the first half, we made a ton of communication defensive mistakes that resulted in open shots for Fordham, and they made them. That’s why they shot 48 percent,” Lochner said. “The last four minutes they might’ve scored 27 points up to that point, and we held them really to four points the last four minutes. I thought that’s where we started to set the tone for the defense, and we continued in the second half.”

Fordham (3-23, 1-11) finished the first half shooting 48 percent from the field, over 45 percent from the perimeter and 100 percent from the free throw line. Fordham had the lead heading into the locker rooms, 31-25.

The Explorers came out strong in the second half and never looked back, as sophomore Tara Lapetina (3.6 apg, 38 percent 3pt-fg) scored her first points of the game on a three-pointer.

Heading into Saturday’s matchup, Lapetina was seventh in the A-10 in assists per game (3.62), second in the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.92) and was tied for sixth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (40.0). With 14:50 remaining in the game, Ricketts kicked it out to Lapetina in the corner for another three. Lapetina finished the game with 10 points, three assists and two rebounds.

Lisa Carrol of Fordham entered the game with 20 or more points in four of her last five games. La Salle did an excellent job locking her down on defense all game long, only allowing her to score nine points and get one rebound.

La Salle’s defense in the second half was too much trouble for Fordham, and the Rams declined in every statistical team category, compared to the first half. Fordham, which shot 50 percent in the first half, dropped to 27 percent in the second. The Rams’ three-point percentage also fell to 11 percent, and their 60 percent free throw percentage was not alluring either.

Hightower finished with nine points and nine rebounds, and Graber chipped in with 11 points and dished out four assists. La Salle outscored the Rams 12-4 from the bench, where freshman Jamie Walsh (4.8 ppg, 47 percent 3pt-fg) was credited with seven points and three rebounds.

“We have to finish plays,” Lochner said. “We’re not as big and as athletic as a lot of teams, so we have to make sure we’re fundamental and we secure the rebounding. Charlotte is a very athletic team who we have up next on our schedule, and we have to defend and we have to box out.”

The Explorers host the Charlotte 49ers on Thursday and then play their final game of the season against Saint Louis here on Sunday. The La Salle women’s basketball team has high expectations for the A-10 Tournament, and they refuse to let any team get in the way of their aspirations.

bonaguraa1@lasalle.edu