Despite battling back from a 10-point deficit, then holding a 13-point lead with two minutes remaining in the contest, the Lady Bears needed a blocked shot on the final possession of the game in order to hold on for a 71-70 non-conference victory over La Salle on Wednesday night at Hill Field House.

The Lady Bears (6-1) had matched their largest lead of the game at 13 points (71-58), following a layup by Theresa Davis with 2:04 left in the game, but La Salle would not go away, scoring the game’s final 12 points. Jamie Walsh began the comeback with a three-pointer and Morgan State would turn the ball over on its next three possessions, with the Explorers capitalizing each time. Morgan Robertson first connected on a free throw to convert a three-point play with 1:08 left. Jenna Gilbert then scored on a layup and Margaret Elderton recorded back-to-back steals and scored each time, the last coming with 7.5 seconds remaining to pull the guests within a point.

Morgan State’s Stacy Hunt would go to the free throw line and missed the back-end of a one-and-one. Robertson grabbed the rebound for the Explorers and drove the length of the floor only to have her shot attempt blocked by Corin Adams, who then secured the ball to preserve the one-point win for the Lady Bears.

Morgan State was led by Adams, who scored a game-high 20 points and Brittany Dodson added 14 points for the Lady Bears, who recorded their first win over La Salle in the series’ six meetings. Davis notched her first double-double of the season, chipping in with 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds to help the Lady Bears to a 37-29 rebounding advantage. It was the first time this season Morgan State outrebounded an opponent.

La Salle (4-4) was led by Robertson, who tallied a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, both team highs, while Elderton added 16 points and Ashley Gale finished with 14. Walsh, who finished with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range and Gale (4-for-7) led the Explorers’ three-point barrage, as they set a school record for treys made with 13, surpassing the previous mark of 11.

Morgan State scored the game’s first basket, before the Explorers responded with three straight three-pointers to take a 9-2 lead. The guests held their largest lead of the game 21-11 after a three-pointer by Gale with 11:44 left in the opening half. The Lady Bears would go on a 26-12 run capped off by a three-pointer by Mahala Thomas over the next nine minutes to take a 37-33 lead. But La Salle closed out the half scoring the last seven points of the half to take a 40-37 lead at the intermission.

The hosts shot a season-best 49 percent (31-of-63) from the field, including 8-for-14 from three-point range (57 percent), while La Salle finished 26-of-58 (44 percent) and went 13-of-25 (52 percent) from beyond the three-point arc for the game.