Jan. 15, 2011
Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Lafayette women's basketball team knew that traveling to Navy meant running into the most prolific three-point shooting team in the Patriot League. And, after an 0-for-10 start from downtown by the host Midshipmen, the law of averages kicked in as Navy shot a scorching 9-for-17 the rest of the way to claim a 61-52 win. Senior co-captain LaKeisha Wright led the Leopards' offense with 16 points.
With their third consecutive loss, Lafayette falls to 7-11 on the season and 0-3 in Patriot League play. Navy stays perfect in the Patriot League at 3-0 and improves to 10-7 overall.
Just shy of double figures was junior Sarah McGorry, who finished with nine points for the Leopards. As a team, Lafayette shot 30.5 percent (18-59) from the field, 29.4 percent (5-17) from three-point range and 64.7 percent (11-17) from the free throw line.
The Maroon and White - the Patriot League leader in rebounding margin - was outworked on the boards to the tune of a 48-32 deficit. Freshman Danielle Fiacco hauled in a team-best 10 rips for the Leopards.
Coming off a career night at Colgate, sophomore Ashley Springer made her first career start at point guard and delivered with six assists in addition to five second-half points.
Lafayette had an exceptional game in terms of protecting the basketball, committing a season-low seven turnovers. However, six of those miscues came in the second half to help facilitate the Navy rally.
Lafayette posted the first six points of the game on three-pointers from Wright and Jackson en route to an early 7-2 lead. The Mids cut the advantage to one point at 7-6, but the Leopards answered with a 12-3 run over the ensuing 4:45 to build a double-digit lead at 19-9. After their 0-for-10 start, back-to-back triples sent Navy on an 8-0 run that saw the Lafayette lead shrink to one possession at 19-17 with 4:55 to go. The Mids wouldn't score again in the frame, however, as Lafayette recorded the final five points of the half to enter the locker room with a 24-17 lead.
Navy opened the second half with a 13-5 spurt, coming all the way back to take its first lead at 30-29 with 14:08 to go. At that point, the back-and-forth battle started as the lead changed four times before either team took a two-possession edge. The benefactor of that lead was Navy, which got back-to-back three-pointers from Cassie Consedine to claim a 40-36 edge with 7:41 remaining. The run extended to 14-3 over a span of 3:23 to give the Midshipmen their largest lead of the contest at 48-39 with 4:56 to go. Despite a late surge, the Leopards never got closer than eight points the rest of the way as Navy hit enough late free throws to lock up a 61-52 win.
Consedine led all players with 18 points on 6-for-14 shooting beyond the arc. Five of her triples came in the second half. Freshman Jade Geif had a double-double for the Midshipmen with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Angela Myers neared a double-double with eight points and a game-best nine assists.
The Leopards are back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 19, returning to Kirby Sports Center to host Bucknell. The 7 p.m. contest will air live on the Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-4, RCN-8 and WBPH-60) and LSN All-Access (GoLeopards.com).
NOTES: LaKeisha Wright moved into ninth all-time at Lafayette with 1,187 career points...Lafayette has now lost 16 consecutive games in Annapolis, dating back to the 1995-96 season...Senior co-captain Elizabeth Virgin returned to the Leopards' lineup after missing Wednesday's game at Colgate due to injury.
