Feb. 25, 2009

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The game between Lafayette and Army came down to the final seconds but it was the Black Knights who came out on top of a 60-55 contest that saw a combined 42 fouls and 38 points scored from the free throw line. Two Erin Anthony free throws with four seconds on the clock sealed the win for Army.

Both teams were in the double bonus with less than four minutes to play. Trailing by three (58-55) with 10 seconds to play, Lafayette's Emily Garner went to the foul line with a chance to make it a one-point game but she missed both attempts and Anthony's two makes seconds later handed Lafayette the loss. Anthony finished with a game-high 20 points.

Jessica Spicer and LaKeisha Wright reached double figures with 16 and 15 points, respectively, but the Leopards (8-20, 2-11) dropped their ninth straight game. Eight of Spicer's points came from the free throw line. Garner had her second straight double-digit rebounding game with 10 boards.

Lafayette started strong, opening the game on a 13-4 run with baskets from four different players, including five points from Spicer. Army, meanwhile, struggled from the field, missing six of their first eight shots. The Leopards maintained a 10-point (17-7) lead thanks to a layup by Meaghan Malone at the 11:30 mark.

Army (18-10, 8-5) would not back down, however, and two Alex McGuire threes in a two minute span tied the game at 21 with less then four minutes to play in the half. The Black Knights never regained sole possession of the lead, though, due to the Leopards' 6-2 run to end the half that gave them a 27-23 advantage at halftime.

Cristin Zavocki drained her first three of the game to put her team back up by eight (34-26) early in the second half but three McGuire free throws, including two on a Lafayette technical, made it a one-point game (35-34) with 16 minutes to play.

Army took went ahead, 37-35, on Laura Baranek's three and from that point on the teams traded leads. Neither team took more than a two-point advantage until the Black Knights went up 47-43 with less than eight minutes to play.

The Leopards' had trouble getting their shots to fall from the floor but did manage eight points from the charity stripe in a seven minute span to keep it a four-point game (53-49) with four minutes to play. Spicer's jumper with less than two minutes on the clock pulled Lafayette within three (58-55) but the Black Knights' performance at the free throw line proved to be the difference.

The Leopards conclude the regular season on Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at American. The opening round of the Patriot League Tournament is on March 7. Seedings will be finalized following the completion of all games on Saturday.

Postgame Notes:
- Lafayette's 22 free throws and 33 free throw attempts were both season highs.
- Emily Garner had a career-high four steals.
- With her 10 boards, Garner now has 641 for her career and needs only two more to tie Vanessa Van De Venter '08 for eighth in Lafayette history.
- Jessica Spicer now has 256 career assists and needs four more to tie Christel Rocha '01 for sixth all-time.
- The Leopards have now lost 18 straight to the Black Knights.