Jan. 31, 2009
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette women's basketball team nearly pulled off a double-digit comeback, but American proved too much for the Leopards to handle as they dropped a 72-61 decision on Saturday afternoon. The game, which concluded the first half of Patriot League play for both teams, featured five first-half lead changes but it was the Eagles who came out on top thanks to 46 second-half points.
Lafayette's Jessica Spicer drained a three-pointer, her third of the day, with 1:18 left to play to cut what had been a 14-point Eagles lead to five (62-57), but American (15-7, 5-2) closed the game with four unanswered points to seal the 11-point win. Cristin Zavocki led the Leopards (8-14, 2-5) with 15 points. Zavocki and Spicer both finished with three baskets from three-point range to account for all six of Lafayette's threes.
The Leopards went up by four (11-7) early in the opening half thanks to a 7-2 run that included four points from LaKeisha Wright. American's Nicole Ryan drained back-to-back threes to hand the lead (13-11) back to the Eagles with 12 minutes to play. Ryan finished with a game-high 17 points.
Jessica Spicer's three-pointer of her own with 7:44 on the clock kept it a two-point game (18-16) and Meaghan Malone knotted it at 18 with a basket less than 30 seconds later. American went back up by five (26-21) but Lafayette kept it a two-point game at halftime (26-24).
Like the opening half, the teams traded baskets to open the second period, but Pam Stanfield put the Leopards in a five-point hole (34-29) with a trey, the team's fourth of the afternoon, five minutes into the action. Lafayette again pulled within two, 40-38, after an Elizabeth Virgin layup with 10:15 to play, but a subsequent 12-0 run by the Eagles gave them a double-digit advantage (52-38).
Zavocki's second three at 5:20 cut the lead to single digits (54-45) and two free throws by Virgin with two minutes to play kept it a nine-point game (58-49). The Leopards came within five (62-57) thanks to Spicer's third and final three-pointer before the Eagles pulled away.
The Leopards open the second half of league play next Saturday with a 1 p.m. game at Holy Cross.
Postgame Notes:
- Senior Emily Garner had one block against the Eagles and now has 32 for her career, tying her with Christina LeVecchi '02 for sixth all-time. Garner also has 593 career rebounds and needs nine more to tie Kerri Hollister '98 for 10th all-time.
- Freshman Alexandra Serowoky had a career-high nine points, six of which came from the free throw line (6-of-8).
- Lafayette had its second-straight 11-steal performance and now has four 11-steal games this season.
