RICHMOND, Va. – Duquesne erased a 10-point second half deficit to send the Atlantic 10 Championship Second Round matchup against La Salle into overtime, but the Explorers would pull away with an 8-1 run in the bonus period to earn a 72-68 victory over the Dukes at the Siegel Center.

Libby Bazelak led four Dukes in double-figures with a season-high 19 points while Precious Johnson notched her first career double-double for Duquesne with 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

Amaya Hamilton recorded 14 points and nine boards as Diamond Bragg tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and a team-high six assists for the Dukes.

The Explorers led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter before the Dukes clawed back cutting the La Salle advantage to 44-40 at the end of the third following five straight points by Bazelak.

Midway through the fourth frame, the Explorers led 54-49 before Duquesne knotted it up with a Hamilton 3-pointer and a layup by Bragg with 3:51 remaining.

La Salle responded with a 3-pointer, when Bragg and Bazelak scored on back-to-back possessions to give the Dukes the lead for the first time since the second quarter at 58-57 with 1:45 showing on the clock.

After the Explorers countered with a Kayla Spruill basket with 27 ticks to play, Bragg found Megan McConnell who knocked down a baseline jumper to put Duquesne ahead 60-59 with just seven seconds remaining.

Claire Jacobs would connect on 1-of-2 free throw attempts on the other end to tie it at 60-60.

Following a Duquesne turnover, Amy Jacobs' 3-pointer at the horn was off the mark, pushing the game to overtime.

In the bonus period, Claire Jacobs got the Explorers on the board first when Hamilton responded with a basket for the Dukes on the other end. La Salle used an 8-1 run from that point to pull away for the A-10 championship triumph.

Claire Jacobs had a game-high 27 points to lead the Explorers while Spruill added a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Duquesne held a 49-47 rebounding edge to go with advantages of 36-34 in points in the paint and 16-12 in second chance points.

The Dukes jumped out to an 11-2 lead to begin the contest ignited by 3-pointers from Hamilton and Bazelak. Johnson had all five other points for the Dukes during the surge.

La Salle answered with eight straight points to shrink the Duquesne advantage to 11-10.

The Dukes held a 17-12 edge early in the second frame when the Explorers used a 14-2 run to gain a 26-17 lead with 1:44 to play in the first half.

A Bazelak 3-pointer and layup by Diamond Bragg helped minimize the La Salle lead to 30-24 at the break.

The Explorers would then build their lead to as many as 10 in the third stanza.

The Dukes close the season at 5-11 while La Salle advances to take on top-seeded Dayton in the A-10 Championship Quarterfinals on Friday, March 12.