Feb. 16, 2011
Box Score
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Lafayette women's basketball team turned in a strong defensive effort at Patriot League rival Bucknell on Wednesday evening, but the Leopards' offense was unable to capitalize. Lafayette shot just 18 percent from the field (11-61) en route to falling to the host Bison, 46-34.
With the loss, Lafayette falls to 11-15 overall and 4-7 in the Patriot League. Bucknell improves to 8-15 on the season with a 5-6 league tally.
Senior co-captains LaKeisha Wright and Elizabeth Virgin paced the Leopards' offense with nine and seven points, respectively. Junior Sarah McGorry had six points in addition to a team-high six boards, and senior co-captain Lauren Jackson chipped in with five points off the bench. Junior Melissa Downey had three points, and sophomores Samantha Jordan and Ashley Springer rounded out the scoring with two points apiece.
Lafayette was outrebounded, 46-32, though the Leopards hauled in 14 offensive boards to Bucknell's 10. The Maroon and White committed only eight turnovers while forcing 20, but converted those takeaways into just nine points.
Bucknell started the contest on a 9-0 spurt before Wright slashed to the hoop and sank a layup to get the Leopards on the board. That bucket started the Leopards on a 7-2 run, bringing the score to 11-7 in favor of the Bison with 13:28 remaining the period. However, McGorry's three-point play to cap the run would be the Leopards' final points for a span over 10:35. The Lafayette defense did its part, limiting the run to just 12-0 over the extended stretch, but the Maroon and White still found themselves trailing by 16 points, 23-7, with a McGorry free throw ended the drought. The Leopards finished the half on another 7-2 run to bring the halftime score to a more manageable 25-14 deficit.
The Leopards shot just 4-for-29 (13.8 percent) in the half, but stayed within striking distance courtesy of a 5-for-6 (83.3 percent) showing at the free throw line. Lafayette was doubled-up on the glass, with the Bison holding a 26-13 rebounding advantage over the first 20 minutes. The Maroon and White committed only five turnovers to Bucknell's 10 miscues, but the squads were even in points-off-turnovers with four apiece.
The Bison scored the first five points of the second half and soon extended their lead to a game-high 21 points at 43-22 with 11:03 to go. The Leopards had a final push in them, however, pouring in 11 consecutive tallies to cut the margin to 10 points at 43-33 with 6:21 remaining. But, Lafayette notched just one more point the rest of the way and, despite holding the home team to only one field goal over the last 11:03 of the contest, fell by a final score of 46-34.
Bucknell's Cosima Higham was the only player in double figures with 11 points. She rounded out a double-double with 14 rebounds and also recorded six blocked shots. Lafayette held Shelby Romine, the Patriot League's second-leading scorer, to three points on 1-for-7 shooting from the field.
The Leopards close out their 2010-11 regular season home schedule on Saturday, Feb. 19 with a visit from their historical rival, Lehigh. Senior Day action from Kirby Sports Center tips off at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-4, RCN-8, WBPH-60) and LSN All-Access (GoLeopards.com).
