A special to Atlantic10.com by Zac Weiss
RICHMOND, VA – Eighth-seeded La Salle earned its first Atlantic 10 Championship victory since 2017, defeating ninth-seeded Duquesne in overtime 72-68 in a second-round contest Thursday at VCU’s Siegel Center.
“I think the game today is a little bit of who we’ve been all year,” La Salle coach Mountain MacGillivray said. “The team showed a lot of resiliency and I was really pleased. We did not shoot well from the three-point line today and we found a way to win.”
Claire Jacobs led La Salle matching a season best with 27 points, while grabbing nine rebounds. Kayla Spruill added a double-double, scoring 15 of her 16 points in the second half and grabbing 10 rebounds. Haleigh Hill added 14 points and nine rebounds.
“It’s exciting for us as a team to go through this together,” La Salle’s Claire Jacobs said. “We’re very young, so it’s really exciting and new to all of us. We’re enjoying it.”
Libby Bazelak earned a season-high 19 points for Duquesne, while Precious Johnson earned her first career double-double consisting of 15 points and 11 rebounds. Amaya Hamilton added 14 points and nine rebounds, while Diamond Bragg recorded 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
For Duquesne, this loss snaps a streak which saw it reach 13 consecutive A-10 Championship quarterfinals.
“We won three quarters today and lost the most important one in overtime,” Duquesne coach Dan Burt said. “We have an incredible group of young women and I have an immense amount of gratitude for what they have gone through this season. Today they did what they did all year pretty much, they played hard and gave everything they had. That’s all we can ask.”
Duquesne opened the game on an 11-2 run connecting on its first two shots, both from three-point range. Johnson also earned five points to comprise the other points in the run converting an and-one play and converting a layup.
La Salle was able to recover from its slow start and had nine offensive rebounds in the first quarter to provide multiple looks in each possession going on a 9-0 run to bring the game back to within a point. This run was achieved when Johnson was subbed off the court shortly after picking up her first foul.
After one quarter, Duquesne led by three points, though following its opening run, it finished 2-for-11 from the field.
“Even though our shots weren’t falling, we were getting good shots and believing in each other,” said Jacobs. “We all had the confidence that we were going to keep shooting throughout the game and hoping they would fall.”
Johnson picked up where she left off in the second quarter scoring another layup, but 14 seconds later picked up her second foul, and again headed to the bench.
Without Johnson, Duquesne was held scoreless for 3:32 before a Lindsey Linard layup on an outlet pass following a La Salle turnover.
That would be Duquesne’s lone basket in a 14-2 run which saw La Salle open up a seven-point lead, again all with Johnson on the bench.
Following Linard’s basket, Duquesne went on another scoreless streak, this time spanning 3:59.
La Salle’s run saw Claire Jacobs begin to find her momentum scoring nine points as the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Third Team performer sank two three-point shots.
The teams traded three baskets apiece as La Salle led by six points at halftime.
La Salle scored five of the first six points in the third quarter, taking the first double-digit lead either team enjoyed. Duquesne then responded with an 8-1 run as the ball was worked into Johnson who scored five of the eight points.
The teams battled for control for the rest of the quarter, with a Bazelak three-point basket cutting La Salle’s lead to two points, but Claire Jacobs again had the answer and her layup placed the Explorers on top by four after 30 minutes of play.
After both teams continued trading multiple baskets, Duquesne’s Bazelak sank another three-point shot and the squads were separated by a point.
La Salle quickly responded as Spruill sank a triple of her own.
Again Duquesne cut into the lead as Johnson sank two free throws, but Claire Jacobs responded on the other end with a reverse layup through traffic.
Coming out of the fourth-quarter media timeout, La Salle led by five points, but some ball movement on Duquesne’s end allowed Bazelak to find Hamilton for an end-of-the shot clock three-point basket.
On Duquesne’s next possession, Bragg maneuvered her way around La Salle’s defenders tying the matchup at 54.
La Salle then saw Claire Jacobs take three shots in one possession as the Explorers again had their way on the offensive glass. On the third shot, a three-point attempt, she was able to convert.
Duquesne then took a second-chance opportunity and Bragg’s dribble penetration led to an uncontested layup.
After Bazelak found a driving layup, Duquesne earned its first advantage since 3:55 remained in the second quarter.
Duquesne maintained that advantage until Spruill recorded a block and ran the court, rewarded with a second-chance layup allowing La Salle to go back in front.
With seven seconds left, Bragg found Megan McConnell, who had missed her first seven shots from the field. McConnell made a 10-foot open jumper which placed Duquesne in front.
Claire Jacobs then drove the lane where Bazelak fouled and she split free throws. Duquesne then committed a turnover, and Amy Jacobs missed a straight-on three-pointer sending the game into overtime.
As both teams started slowly in the overtime period, Claire Jacobs sank two free throws as Duquesne was held without a field goal for 2:46.
Both Bazelak and Johnson fouled out in overtime while La Salle made all eight of its free throws in the final 1:07 securing the win.
“It was just knowing our offense and what we were supposed to do,” said Spruill. “We didn’t really go in anxious, we went in trusting our offense and what we had been doing on defense.”
La Salle will face top-seeded Dayton in the first of four Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals. The contest will tipoff at 11 a.m. and can be viewed on ESPN+.