Feb. 24, 2010
Box Score | 
EASTON, Pa. - The Leopards sure know how to give their fans a thrill as it took overtime for Lafayette to capture a 54-52 win over Army on Wednesday night.
With only four seconds remaining in overtime, junior Lauren Jackson broke through the Army defense for a layup and a Lafayette win. The victory snapped the Leopards' 19-game losing streak against Patriot League foe Army.
Jackson and the Leopards rebounded from what had been a 12-point deficit to force overtime where they held on for the victory. Jackson, who finished with 18 points, was joined in double figures by LaKeisha Wright, who matched her season high with a 17-point performance.
Lafayette's bench was critical in the outcome, scoring 29 points to Army's 11. The Leopards (6-21, 4-9) shot an impressive 44 percent from the field while Army (10-17, 5-8) countered with a 39 percent showing. Lafayette also forced 19 Black Knights turnovers which led to 18 Leopard points.
Lafayette went the first five minutes without a basket until Wright's jumper made it 6-2.
Amanda Smith's basket kept it a four-point contest (12-8) with more than 12 minutes remaining and Jackson cut it to three (13-10) less than a minute later. The senior's second bucket of the night put Lafayette ahead for the first time, 14-13.
The lead switched hands for the next seven minutes until Army went up 19-16 on a Nalini Hawkins fade-away jumper at the three-minute mark. An Erin Jankowski three-pointer made it 22-16 and the Black Knights went into halftime leading 22-18.
A three-point play by Army's Erin Anthony less than two minutes into the second half kept the Black Knights up 27-20. Hawkins' jumper gave the Army its first double digit lead (35-24) with 15:24 on the clock.
Ashley Springer drained a three to bring the lead back to single digits and Jackson followed with a three-point play that made it 38-32 with 13 minutes to play. Wright reached double figures with her basket at the 9:40 mark to cut Army's lead to two (38-36).
A Jackson free throw made what had been a 12-point Black Knights lead shrink to one (38-37) and Wright knotted it at 40-all with a free throw with 5:45 remaining.
Melissa Downey's free throws with three minutes on the clock put Lafayette ahead 44-42, the team's first lead since the nine-minute mark of the first half.
Anthony tied it at 46 with 30 seconds on the clock, forcing the Leopards to call a timeout. After failing to get a shot off, they got the ball back with 1.6 seconds remaining but Wright's jumper bounced off the rim, forcing overtime.
Wright handed a 50-49 lead back to Lafayette with two free throws less than two minutes into the extra session. Sarah McGorry followed with two more free throws for a 52-49 score midway through overtime before Laura Baranek's three tied it at 52.
It remained tied at 52 when Army called a timeout with 32 seconds on the clock. A Black Knights turnover gave Lafayette possession with four seconds and Jackson came through with the game-winning layup.
The Leopards wrap up the regular season on Saturday when they host American at 1 p.m. The team's four seniors - Danielle Jenkins, Amanda Leone, Brooke Niquette and Amanda Smith - will be honored prior to tipoff.
Postgame Notes:
- LaKeisha Wright and Lauren Jackson combined to score 35 of the Leopards' 52 points. Both players reached double figures with nine minutes still remaining in the second half.
- Sophomore Melissa Downey had seven assists, just one shy of her career-high.
- In addition to Saturday's Senior Day festivities, it is also Poster Day.
