Nov. 12, 2005
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Rookie Emily Garner's layin with less than one second on the clock pulled the Lafayette women's basketball team past M.I. Express Saturday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center. The exhibition contest kicked off the 2005-2006 season for the Lafayette women.
The game remained tight throughout, appropriately coming down to the final seconds to determine the outcome. With 10.9 seconds remaining, Express' Shareese Grant drained a pair of foul shots to put her team ahead 64-63. Bringing the ball up the court, freshman guard Jessica Spicer broke through pressure and found Garner on the right side. Garner then slashed to the basket, pushing the ball off the glass and in to give the Leopards the 65-64 victory.
The teams battled back-and-forth early on, as Lafayette managed a slight 33-31 lead heading into the intermission. The first half featured seven ties and no lead was larger than four. Trailing 20-19, junior guard Kara Stetler launched her first of five good three-point buckets, giving Lafayette a 22-20 advantage.
Coming out of the half, the teams played by a similar script until Lafayette was able to put together the game's first significant rally, ignited by a pair of free throws from sophomore Brittany Purr with 6:54 remaining. The Leopards then used a 12-2 run to take the only double-digit lead of the contest, 63-53, with 3:25 to go.
However, M.I. Express responded with a 10-0 run of their own to gain the 64-63 advantage prior to Garner's game-winner, which marked the first field goal for Lafayette since the 4:08 mark.
Stetler and Garner combined to lead the 'Pards with 19 and 13 points, respectively. Stetler had the hot hand for Lafayette, finishing with a game-high five buckets from behind the arc. Sophomore forward Vanessa Van De Venter rounded out the Leopards' double-figure scoring with 10 points, including eight in the first half.
Grant led M.I. Express with a game-high 29 points, 21 of which came after the break.
Lafayette opens the regular season on Nov. 19, as the Leopards host Wagner at 7 p.m.
