Dec. 31, 2011
Box Score
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Lafayette women's basketball team took Pittsburgh to the brink on Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center but was unable to close out the host Panthers in a 74-69 overtime loss. Emily Homan led all scorers with 22 points for the Leopards.
Playing their third game in four days, the Leopards fall to 5-9 in defeat. Pittsburgh improves to 8-6 with the overtime victory.
Homan's 22 points came on 10-for-13 shooting from the field and a 2-for-2 day at the foul line. Samantha Jordan came off the bench to net a career-best 12 points. Madeline Fahan added nine for the Leopards, and Alicia Manning knocked down a pair of three-pointers en route to eight bench points. Danielle Fiacco filled out her statline with six points, five rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots. Jordan hauled in six boards to lead the Leopards, who were edged on the glass, 33-31.
Lafayette had its best shooting day of the season at 29-for-52 (55.8 percent) from the floor. The Leopards went 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) from beyond the three-point arc and 6-for-12 (50 percent) from the charity stripe. Lafayette registered assists on 27 of its 29 field goals with Fiacco, Melissa Downey and Brya Freeland dropping six dimes apiece.
The difference in the game came at the free throw line, where Pittsburgh was awarded 35 tries to Lafayette's 12. The Panthers took 27 free throws in the second half, sinking 21 to erase a Leopards' lead that grew as large as 15 points to force the overtime despite converting just seven field goals (to Lafayette's 12) in the period.
The Panthers started the contest on a 7-0 run, but Lafayette responded in kind with a 9-0 spurt to claim an early lead. A 16-15 lead for the home team marked the last time that Pittsburgh would hold a lead until the extra frame. A Manning triple put Lafayette on top, 18-15, and a Downey jumper later gave the Leopards their largest lead of the opening 20 minutes at 27-19. Pittsburgh climbed back to within four points, but a Homan layup, which gave her 10 points for the half, sent Lafayette into the locker room with a 31-25 cushion.
In the second half, Homan scored six quick points to give Lafayette a 37-27 lead and force a Pittsburgh timeout at the 18:16 mark. The edge held at 10 points until a Freeland triple and a Jordan jumper pushed the margin to 15 at 46-31 with 14:37 to go. The Leopards continue to score from the field as Pittsburgh began to chip away at the lead from the charity stripe, going to the line on four consecutive possessions to trim the deficit to nine at 48-39. The difference went back to double figures on another Jordan bucket, where it held as deep as the 3:25 mark at 56-45. At that point, an 11-2 run by the home team cut the score to a single bucket at 58-56. Downey sank two foul shots to run the score back to two possessions at 60-56 with 1:12 remaining. Pittsburgh hit two at the stripe on their next possession and, after Freeland sank one of two, the Panthers hit two more to put the score at 61-60. Pittsburgh's full-court pressure forced a turnover with 28 seconds remaining, and the Panthers worked their way to the line again and sank one of two tries to knot the score at 61-61 and send it into overtime.
With Homan and Fiacco both fouled out of the contest in regulation, Pittsburgh won the jumpball and started the overtime with a three-pointer. After Jordan brought the Leopards back within one point at 64-63, Asia Logan hit jumpers on back-to-back possessions to give the hosts a 68-63 with 3:11 left. After an empty trip for Lafayette on an offensive foul call, the clubs traded buckets to hold the margin at five points, 70-65 with 2:18 to play. Pittsburgh sank a jumper to go up by seven points and, after a defensive stop, went to the line leading 72-65 with 90 seconds to play. The Panthers missed both foul shots, and Lafayette came the other way with a trey by Fahan to cut the deficit to four points. The Leopards came up with a stop on the ensuing Pittsburgh possession, and Downey sank one of two free throws to bring Lafayette back within a possession at 72-69 with 55 seconds remaining. The Leopards' defense forced the turnover needed on the next trip, but the offense came up empty on the ensuing chance. The Panthers iced the contest with two late free throws to escape with a 74-69 decision.
Brianna Kiesel led Pittsburgh with 15 points. Leeza Burdgess and Marquel Davis each netted 14 for the home team.
The Leopards will ring in 2012 on Dec. 4 at Kirby Sports Center against Columbia. Lafayette's final non-league outing of the season will tip off at 5 p.m. and will air live on the Lafayette Sports Network and GoLeopards.com. The contest is the first half of a doubleheader, as the Lafayette men's basketball team hosts Penn at approximately 7:30 p.m.
