CRESSON, Pa. – La Roche women's basketball concluded its two-game road trip on Wednesday night, defeating Mt. Aloysius 84-76 in a hard fought battle.
The Redhawks opened the game with a 5-0 run that eventually saw the score come within a single point at 12-11.
La Roche again grew a four-point edge of 17-13 with 1:15 remaining, but the Mounties would tie the game 19-19.
A pair of free throws in the final second would give the Redhawks a 21-19 lead heading into the second quarter.
After trading baskets to open the second, the score stood at 23-22 in favor of La Roche, who then used a 6-0 run to grow the lead back to seven at 29-22.
With 4:05 remaining in the half, Mt. Aloysius cut the deficit to 32-31, but the Redhawks would take charge from there, using a 9-0 run to end the half and lead 41-31 heading into the locker room.
Out of the break, the La Roche run continued, scoring the first seven points of the third for a total run of 16-0 over a stretch of 6:42 to take a commanding 48-31 lead.
The Mounties would climb back to be within 10 points at 58-48 with 2:48 left in the third, but the Redhawks would never relinquish the double-digit edge in the frame, leading 68-56 going into the fourth.
In the early stages of the fourth, La Roche regained a 16-point edge at 77-61 with 7:11 to play, scoring nine of the quarters first 14 points.
The Redhawks final bucket came with 2:38 remaining to still hold an 83-69 lead, as Mt. Aloysius scored the game's final seven points, including a late three with 16 seconds left to wipe away the double-digit lead, making it the eventual final.
For the game, La Roche shot 49.1% (28-for-57) from the floor and 8-for-19 (42.1%) from deep. From the charity stripe, they went 20-for-26 (76.9%).
On the other side, the Mounties went on to shoot 45.9% (28-for-61) from the field, 7-for-23 (30.4%) from three and 13-for-16 (81.3%) from the free-throw line.
Four Redhawks hit for double figures, with Dasja Anderson leading the way for La Roche.
Anderson scored 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the floor to go alongside five rebounds and four assists.
Jazmine Dunn netted 20 points of her own going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including 4-for-4 from three, tacking on three rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Machia Hairston came just a rebound shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Angelina Cortazzo shined off the bench with 11 points, three rebounds, a pair of assists and three steals.
La Roche returns home on Saturday, Jan. 27 when it hosts Pitt-Bradford. Opening tip for LRU Hall of Fame day is slated for 2 p.m.