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X Women Fight Back to Defeat La Salle
By
XU Wire,
2/10/2013
The Musketeers held on to their late lead winning 58-53 over La Salle Sunday afternoon at Cintas Center. Xavier erased a 14-point deficit to claim its second conference win in the past three games.
Coming into the contest both teams held the same overall record. Xavier improves to 8-15 and 2-7 in the Atlantic 10 while La Salle falls to 7-16 and 3-5 in the conference.
After Ashley Wanninger knocked down a three to start the second half, the Explorers went on an 11-0 run taking a 38-24 lead with 16:16 left in the half. Wanninger finished with seven points and was perfect from the free throw line making all four of her shots.
XU climbed its way back from a 14-point deficit to cut the lead to three with 6:26 left in the second half. The Musketeers used a 15-2 run to shrink the Explorers' lead. During the run Jessica Pachko dropped two layups and Jenna Crittendon hit a deep three.
A layup by Aliyah Zantt at the 2:57 mark gave the Musketeers the 52-51 lead and their first lead since 16:17 mark in the first half. A late 11-2 run by Xavier helped the Musketeers gain their lead. Late free throws byAmber Gray sealed the comeback for the Musketeers.
Gray finished with a team-high 14 points to go along with seven rebounds. Pachko netted 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 27 minutes of play. Shatyra Hawkes tied a season-high with seven assists and swiped two steals. Crittendon finished with a game-high nine rebounds and had a career-high three blocks.
Xavier scored 19 points off 15 La Salle turnovers and La Salle was held to only five points off 13 Xavier turnovers. The Musketeers shot 41.3 percent from the field and held La Salle to 35 percent.
The Musketeers fought hard in the first half but found themselves down 27-21 going into break. Hawkes and Gray each netted six points in the first half. Hawkes also dished out three assists in the first half.
La Salle fired 29 shots in the first half, making 10 attempts, and Xavier shot 7-of-19 from the field. The Explorers out-rebounded the Musketeers 20-12 and scored nine second chance points to the Musketeers' two in the opening half.
La Salle sank a three to open the game Xavier went on a 6-0 run lasting 2:04. Xavier's stingy defense forced five consecutive missed field goals by La Salle. The Explorers responded quickly by going on a 7-0 run of their own to take a 10-6 advantage.
Shanel Harrison of La Salle scored a game-high 17 points and pulled in nine rebounds for the Explorers.
Xavier hosts Rhode Island next Sunday at 2 p.m. at Cintas Center. Stay tuned to GoXavier.com for the latest news and updates of women's basketball.
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