Feb. 18, 2009
Box Score
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Two first-half scoring droughts of more than four minutes put the Leopards in a 10-hole at halftime, one they were unable to get out of, as they suffered a 58-40 loss to Bucknell. LaKeisha Wright led Lafayette in scoring with 14 points, including six from the free throw line, but the team dropped its seventh straight contest.
Lafayette (8-18, 2-9) was plagued by shooting problems all night, finishing with a 26 percent effort (13-of-50) from the floor and a 52 percent showing (12-of-23) from the charity stripe. The Bison (14-10, 6-5), meanwhile, made 19 of their 47 shots (40 percent) and over 71 percent of their free throws.
A 7-2 Bucknell run opened the game but a fastbreak layup by Jessica Spicer made it 7-6 with less than 16 minutes to play. Wright's basket gave the Leopards their first lead (8-7) and Lauren Jackson kept it a one-point Lafayette lead (12-11) with her basket at the 11:49 mark.
Another run by the Bison, this time in the form of nine unanswered points, put the Leopards in a 20-12 hole with eight minutes to play in the half. Wright's free throw at 4:43 broke a nearly six-minute scoring drought for the Leopards and made it 20-13. A Cristin Zavocki trey with five seconds left in the half marked Lafayette's first points since Wright's free throw, but the team went into halftime trailing by 10 (28-18).
Four straight points from Wright early in the second half briefly cut the lead to eight (30-22), but Bucknell went back up by double digits and led 39-23 after Amanda Brown drained a three with 13:34 to play. Brown finished with a team-high 13 points.
With 6:17 remaining, Wright pulled the Leopards back within nine (46-37) with her fourth and fifth free throws of the night. Two minutes later, Spicer fed the ball to Wright under the basket for the easy layup to make the score 46-39. Lafayette held the Bison without a basket for five minutes until Brown scored six points in less than two minutes to again give her team a double-digit lead (52-40) and the eventual 18-point win.
The Leopards conclude their home season on Saturday with a 1 p.m. game against archrival Lehigh. The team's five seniors will be honored prior to the start of the game.
Postgame Notes:
- Despite the loss, the Leopards still earned a series split with the Bison for third straight season.
- Emily Garner had six rebounds and now has 619 for her career, good for ninth all-time in Lafayette history.
- Jessica Spicer now has 254 career assists, good for seventh all-time.
- Junior Brooke Niquette played a career-high eight minutes.
- Lafayette had a season-high 16 steals, led by Spicer's five, which matched her season high.
