McCANDLESS, Pa. - La Roche women's basketball earned their fifth straight win and improved to 6-0 in conference play this afternoon after downing the D'Youville Spartans, 61-57. Today's win is the closest margin of victory by the Redhawks this season.
Saturday's match was physical, the teams combined for 47 personal fouls (D'Youville: 24, La Roche: 23) and 45 free-throw attempts.
2019's AMCC Player of the Year, Senior forward Jenna Cole, surged for season-high's in points (20) and rebounds (8) to lead the Redhawks over D'Youville.
Final: La Roche: 61, D'Youville: 57
Records: La Roche (6-4, AMCC: 6-0)
How it Happened
The Redhawks offense started out hot, outscoring D'Youville 23-13 through the first quarter while shooting 9 of 17 (53%) from the floor. Cole and Sophomore guard Danajah Sanders each scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes and were a perfect 5 of 5 combined from three-point land.
La Roche maintained their lead through the second quarter, heading into halftime ahead 35-23.
With 4:18 left in the third quarter, still trailing by 11 points, the Spartans put together a 9-3 run to make it a five point game heading into the final 10 minutes.
D'Youville's newly acquired Freshman guard, Sara Pfeiffer, proved to be a difference maker for the Spartans. Pfeiffer gave the Spartans their first lead of the game on a layup with 5:28 to play and nailed a triple with 57 seconds left to play to keep it a two point game.
Junior guard Shaundrea Butler picked up a key offensive rebound with 20 seconds on the clock to force D'Youville to foul. Butler would knock down both free-throws to give La Roche a four point lead.
Diamond-Jay (DJ) Whittington sealed the deal with a huge block to give the Redhawks their fifth victory of the season.
Inside the Box Score
The Redhawks shot 22 of 56 (39%) from the floor in Saturday's contest, just their second victory this season while shooting under 50%.
From beyond the arc, La Roche shot 7 of 18 (39%). The Redhawks currently rank third in the AMCC this season in three-point percentage (30%).
La Roche struggled at the free-throw line, knocking down 7 of 18 (39%) shots from the line. In their last two games, the Redhawks have shot a combined 11 of 34 (32%) from the line.
Freshman forward Dashá Jackson, as she has done all season, provided production off the bench. The Ambridge native nearly finished with a double-double, recording 10 points and a season-high 9 rebounds.
NEXT UP: Women's basketball heads out to Alfred St. next Wednesday, January 8th to take on the Pioneers. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m.
