Feb. 19, 2011
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EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette women's basketball team got 37 points from its three senior co-captains playing in their final home game on Saturday afternoon, but the Leopards were bested by historic rival Lehigh by a score of 70-49. Lauren Jackson scored a game-high 17 points on Senior Day.
The Leopards, who defeated Lehigh in Bethlehem on Jan. 22, fall to 11-16 overall and 4-8 in Patriot League play with the loss. Lehigh notches its seventh-straight win to move to 18-9 on the season with an 8-4 league tally.
Jackson's 17 points matched her season-high - a game-high output in the win over La Salle on Dec. 11. Fellow senior co-captains Elizabeth Virgin and LaKeisha Wright contributed 12 and eight points, respectively. Junior Sarah McGorry poured in eight points in addition to her team-best nine rebounds, and junior Melissa Downey and sophomore Samantha Jordan rounded out the scoring with two points apiece.
As a team, the Leopards shot 30.9 percent (17-55) from the field, 33.3 percent (3-9) from three-point range and 85.7 percent (12-14) from the free throw line. Lafayette was outrebounded, 46-36, though the Leopards posted 14 second-chance points to the Mountain Hawk's nine. Lehigh also won the turnover battle, 24-18, though the squads were just about equal in points-off-turnovers, with the visitors holding a slim 22-19 edge in that department.
Alexa Williams (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Emily Gratch (14 points, 12 rebounds) both posted double-doubles for Lehigh. Erica Prosser and Aly Byorick each had 11 points to complete a quartet of Mountain Hawks scoring in double figures.
A Jackson three-pointer - her first of three treys on the day - tied the score at 7-7 with 17:02 to go in the first half. The Leopards would manage just two points over the ensuing 6:36, however, as the Mountain Hawks opened up a 19-9 lead. Lafayette answered with a 8-2 spurt, but the 21-17 deficit with 6:47 remaining in the half marked the smallest margin for the remainder of the contest. A jumper from Jackson closed out the half, as the Leopards went into the locker room trailing, 32-24.
The Mountain Hawks started the second half on a 12-2 run, extending their lead to 18 points at 44-26. Another run widened the gap to 25 points as 57-32 with 8:16 to go and, at the final buzzer, the visitors headed back to Bethlehem with a 70-49 win. Virgin scored 10 points in the frame, but 13 turnovers after the intermission stifled any chance of another second-half Lafayette rally past Lehigh.
The Leopards are back in action on Wednesday, traveling to West Point, N.Y. to meet Patriot League for Army. The Black Knights won at Navy, 57-46, today to improve to 12-14 overall and 6-6 in league play. Action from Christl Arena tips off at 7 p.m.
NOTES: Lafayette used its 17th different starting lineup of the season, the most in all of Division I...Only LaKeisha Wright has started all 27 games for the Leopards.
