Feb. 12, 2011
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EASTON, Pa. - Twenty-eight days after letting a halftime lead slip away in Annapolis, the Lafayette women's basketball team found itself up against another second-half charge from Patriot League-leading Navy. This time, in the familiar confines of Kirby Sports Center, the Leopards fought off the Midshipmen en route to a 58-53 victory. Senior co-captain Elizabeth Virgin scored a career-best 20 points in the victory.
With their second-straight win, the Leopards improve to 11-14 overall and 4-6 in Patriot League play. The Midshipmen fall to 14-10 on the season with a 7-3 League tally. Pending the results of action later today, the Leopards could climb as high as sixth-place in the Patriot League, while Navy could fall into a tie with American for the top spot in the standings.
Virgin's 20 points shared the game high with Navy freshman Jade Geif and marked the highest scoring output by a Leopard this season. She was 8-for-11 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. As a team, Lafayette shot 39.6 percent (21-53) from the floor, 27.3 percent (3-11) from downtown and 13-for-13 from the free throw line.
Senior co-captains LaKeisha Wright and Lauren Jackson and junior Sarah McGorry each had eight points for the Leopards. All eight of Wright's tallies came in the second half as Navy battled to within one point of Lafayette. Freshman Madeline Fahan posted seven points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench, while sophomore Samantha Jordan chipped in four points. Sophomore Ashley Springer rounded out the scoring with three points courtesy of a three-point play during the Leopards' first-half run.
Lafayette was edged on the glass, 31-30, but came through on the boards when mattered - hauling in five of the final six rebounds to clinch the win. The Leopards scored 15 points off of 16 Navy turnovers, while the Midshipmen converted 14 Lafayette miscues into 20 points.
Navy, which lit up the Leopards for nine three-pointers in the first meeting, shot just 3-for-17 from the beyond the arc. The Midshipmen came into the game averaging 7.7 three-pointers made and 22.5 attempted per outing.
A three-pointer from Navy's Cassie Consedine starting the scoring, but the Leopards ran off the next six to claim an early 6-3 advantage. Navy took a 10-9 lead with 14:27 to go in the half, but would never lead again as the Lafayette again scored six-straight points to charge into the lead. In total, the Leopards went on a 10-2 run to grab a 19-12 lead. The first-half lead grew as large as 11 points as Lafayette went into the locker room holding a 31-22 lead.
Virgin scored 14 of her 20 points in the first half, and the Lafayette bench outscored Navy's non-starters, 13-2, over the first 20 minutes of action.
A 10-2 for the Midshipmen started the second half, quickly slashing the Leopards' lead to a single point at 33-32. Though the score got within one point on four occasions, Lafayette continued to answer Navy and retain the lead. A late charge cut the score to 52-50 with 2:37 to go and the Leopards holding possession. After a lengthy possession that included three offensive rebounds, the final put-back gave Virgin her 20th point of the day and, more importantly, extended the Lafayette advantage to 54-50 with less than one minute to go. After Geif hit one-of-two from the foul line, McGorry calmly sank a pair to run the lead to five points at 56-51. Navy answered with a quick deuce, but McGorry again was true at the line to bring the score to its final tally, 58-53.
Geif just missed a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds in addition to her 20 points. Navy's Angela Myers, a Patriot League Player of the Year candidate, managed just four points on 2-for-10 shooting. In nine career games against the Leopards, Myers, who averages a team-high 13.0 points per game, has never tallied double figures.
The Leopards will look to extend their winning streak to three games on Wednesday evening with an in-state road trip to Bucknell. The Bison, who host Holy Cross tonight, entered the weekend at 6-15 overall and 3-6 in Patriot League action.
NOTES: The Leopards hosted their annual WBCA Pink Zone game...With four regular-season games remaining, Lafayette has matched last season's Patriot League win total...Seven home wins also matches the most in a season for the Leopards since the 1993-94 campaign...Including Patriot League Tournament play, Lafayette and Navy have each earned a win in the series in the last four seasons...Navy leads the all-time series, 36-20.
