With Six Explorers In Double-Digits, La Salle Women's Basketball Defeats Oral Roberts, 87-67

Six Explorers scored in the double digits as La Salle took down Oral Roberts, 87-67, at Tom Gola Arena.

Ashley Gale led the Explorers with 22 points on the evening. Alexis Scott chipped in 19, Chelsea Conner registered a career-high 11 points and Nadia Duncan tallied 13.  Ebonee Jones provided 12 points off the bench.

Freshman Jess Koci notched her first double-double of her career, adding 10 points and 14 rebounds to become the first freshman to do so since Christa Ricketts notched 26 points and 13 rebounds at home against Xavier on Feb 19 2004.

"Jess is one of the hardest-working players in practice and in the game," Head Coach Jess Williams said. "She's an undersized post player who lays it on the line every time out there."

Gale closed the first half with a wide-open three and then added another in the second half to move into tenth all-time at La Salle in career three-pointers made.  With 105 for her career, Gale surpasses Marnie McBreen, who hit 104 career treys (1993-1997).

The Explorers opened the contest on a nine-point tear and La Salle held Oral Roberts scoreless for a six-minute span in the first half.  The Blue and Gold went into the break with a 46-16 halftime lead and extended it to 32 after the break after a layup by Koci.

"We definitely played hard today," Jeff Williams said. "We shared the ball well today, but I wasn't happy with the way we closed it out defensively."

The Golden Eagles would get within 20 twice in the second half, adding 51 points after the break. Kevi Luper notched a game-high 24 points for Oral Roberts, 18 of them in the second half.

As a team, the Explorers shot a season-high .404 from the floor.

La Salle held the Golden Eagles, who average 88.6 points per game and hit the century mark in two contests this year, to their second-lowest point total on the season.

The Explorers hit double-digit offensive rebounds (22) for the fourth consecutive game, the first such streak since Nov. 19-29, 2008.

La Salle will return to the court for a 2 p.m. contest against Delaware at Tom Gola Arena on Sunday, November 28.