Jan. 19, 2006
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - A layup by Lindsay Myers broke a 54-54 tie with 48 seconds left, and Vanessa Van De Venter and Kara Stetler each made both ends of a one-and-one in the final seconds as Lafayette defeated Penn, 60-56, in women's basketball on Thursday night at The Palestra.
Lafayette improves to 5-11, matching its victory total from last year in its final non-league game of the season. The Leopards have 11 Patriot League games remaining, starting with Lehigh on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m. at Kirby Sports Center.
The victory comes nearly 10 years to the day since Lafayette's last win at The Palestra, a 69-60 triumph over the Quakers on Jan. 22, 1996. Penn had won the last seven meetings to even the series at 15-15.
Lafayette led 46-45 with four minutes left before Van De Venter converted a pair of three-point plays within 28 seconds, and a layup by Emily Garner put the Leopards ahead 54-47 at the 3:04 mark. Penn (3-12) rattled off the next seven points and tied the game on a jumper by Monica Naltner with 1:14 left.
Myers gave the Leopards a 56-54 lead with the shot clock winding down, and the Quakers missed two shots in a wild sequence that ended with Van De Venter at the line for a one-and-one with 16.3 seconds left. The sophomore sank both shots, and Joey Rhoads raced to the other end for a layup with 11.3 seconds on the clock. Stetler was fouled on the inbounds play, and made both shots to put Lafayette ahead 60-56. Myers blocked a three-pointer by Naltner to secure the final margin.
Penn shot 11-of-19 in the first half but led by just four (28-24) at the break as the Leopards harassed the Quakers into 15 turnovers. Lafayette held a 21-11 advantage in the turnover department for the contest, and gave the basketball up only four times in the second half.
The Leopards held Penn to three points in a stretch of 10:02 spanning halftime, turning a 27-21 deficit with 4:04 remaining into a 35-30 lead. The Quakers were 0-for-11 from the field and turned the ball over four times. Penn led once in the last 17:46, holding a brief one-point edge with five minutes to go before the Leopards scored 10 of the next 12 points.
Van De Venter had 16 points and eight rebounds and Myers scored 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting to lead Lafayette. Kristin Doherty hit a trio of three-pointers and finished with nine.
Rhoads and Naltner scored 13 each for Penn, and Jennifer Fleischer posted eight points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
The Leopards will look for their first Patriot League win of the season on Saturday against Lehigh.
