Women's Basketball Holds Off LaSalle, 65-62
12/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - After taking control with a 25-6 run in the second half, the Seton Hall women's basketball team held off LaSalle in the final seconds for a 65-62 win at Walsh Gymnasium on Wednesday afternoon. The Pirates (6-7) return to action on Dec. 29 when they host Rhode Island at 2:00 p.m. in the final non-conference game of the season.
Junior Tajay Ashmeade (Bronx, N.Y.) turned in her second double-double of the year with career-highs of 15 points and 21 rebounds. Junior Kandice Green (Baltimore, Md.) added 11 points and eight boards, while freshman Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) added seven points, four rebounds and five assists.
Ashley Gale paced the Explorers (4-6) with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
A steal and layup by Gale gave LaSalle an 8-4 lead five minutes into the opening half. Michea Bryant followed with a three-pointer to make it a seven-point game, and another steal and score by Nadia Duncan gave the Explorers a 13-4 advantage. The Pirates fought back with an 11-2 run, capped off by a layup from Green, to tie the game at 15 with just over eight minutes remaining.
Green hit a pair of free throws at the 6:54 mark to put the Hall in front, 19-18. Gale and Ebonee Jones answered with back-to-back threes for LaSalle, but junior Jasmine Crew (Camden, N.J.) capped a quick 6-0 spurt for the Pirates that gave them a 25-24 lead with four and a half minutes on the clock.
Another three-pointer from Gale gave the Explorers a 29-25 lead with 3:37 left. Duncan pushed the edge to six with a basket off an inbounds pass before sophomore Brittany Morris (Raleigh, N.C.) connected from deep for the Hall to make it a 31-28 game with just over a minute remaining in the half. Sophomore Terry Green (Brentwood, N.Y.) tied it with a three on the Pirates' next possession, and the game went into halftime even at 31.
Jess Koci converted a three-point play less than a minute into the second half to put the Explorers back in front, and Jones extended the lead to five with 18:31 on the clock. LaSalle led 43-35 at the 13:46 mark after Duncan completed a three-point play, but Ashmeade and freshman Elaine Swaby (Paterson, N.J.) each followed with one of their own for the Hall to make it 43-41 with 12:47 to go. Moments later, Simmons tied the game on a transition score, and freshman Jazzmine Johnson (Glen Dale, Md.) sank a short jumper to put the Pirates in front by two.
Simmons gave the Hall a 50-44 lead with a free throw, and Swaby stretched it to an eight-point advantage on a basket with just over nine minutes left. Crew gave the Pirates their first double-figure lead of the day at 60-49 with a layup at the 4:28 mark, extending the team's run to 25-6.
The Explorers mounted a rally of their own, getting back to within 60-54 after a free throw by Gale with three and a half minutes to play. Koci cut it to five with a pair from the stripe, and Gale's three-pointer at the 1:28 mark made it 61-59. Johnson scored underneath for the Pirates, but Gale hit again from beyond the arc with 55 seconds on the clock to slice the Hall's lead to one at 63-62. Ashmeade scored on a putback the next time down, and Jones' game-tying three-point attempt rattled out at the buzzer to give Seton Hall the victory.
The Pirates won the rebounding battle, 47-43, and grabbed 21 on the offensive glass, led by 12 from Ashmeade, on their way to 21 second chance points. The Hall forced 17 turnovers that resulted in 19 points.
