PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Despite first half struggles and a 27-point, third quarter deficit, La Roche women's basketball fought valiantly until the final whistle of the NCAA Tournament First Round, falling to host Baldwin Wallace, 63-53.
The first quarter ended closely, as the Yellow Jackets held a slim, 16-12 lead after the opening 10-minutes of play.
The Redhawks would see themselves fall behind rather quickly, allowing a 9-0 after scoring the opening basket of the game.
The 9-2 edge matched the largest lead of the opening quarter for BW, at 16-9 with 50 seconds to go, but the final three points belonged to La Roche heading into the second half.
Unfortunately for the Redhawks, the Yellow Jackets stung in the second quarter, outscoring La Roche, 18-2, making it a 34-14 halftime deficit for the red and white.
Out of the break, the deficit ballooned to 45-18, as an 11-4 BW run opened the first 6:15 of the third.
Despite the deficit, the Redhawks began to strike, outscoring the Yellow Jackets, 15-4 down that final stretch to trail 49-33 going into the fourth.
La Roche's relentless pressure continued in the fourth. Trailing 55-37 with 6:44 to go, the Redhawks would spark with a 15-2 run over the next 2:33, cutting a once 27-point deficit down to just five at 57-52.
Unfortunately, the final four minutes belonged to the hosts and La Roche's near comeback fell just short.
On the night, La Roche shot 20-for-54 (37%) from the field and 3-for-11 (27.3%) from three. At the free-throw line, the Redhawks capitalized on 10 of 13 attempts (76.9%).
For the Yellow Jackets, they shot 26-for-63 (41.3%) from the floor, 6-for-23 (26.1%) from deep and 5-for-11 (45.5%) from the foul stripe.
Alexis Robison led three double figure scorers for La Roche, in her final game, scoring 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting and 3-for-5 from three, while collecting four rebounds.
Jazmine Dunn followed with 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals, while Dasja Anderson contributed 10 points and five rebounds in her final night dawning the red and white.
The Redhawks conclude the 2024-25 season with a 22-6 overall mark and won their fourth AMCC Tournament Championship in five years and 11th in 14.
La Roche will graduate key contributors in Robison, Anderson, Makayla Abram and Kiyanna Dowling, but have a wealth of experience returning with Dunn, J'La Kizart, Avina Norman and Nautica Burwell, all of whom played a quality amount of minutes this season.