Feb. 4, 2012
Box Score
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Danielle Fiacco became Lafayette's all-time leader in blocked shots, and Emily Homan posted a pair of game highs with 16 points and eight rebounds, but the women's basketball team dropped a Patriot League outing at defending champion Navy on Saturday afternoon, 63-47. Samantha Jordan also netted double figures for the Leopards with 10 points.
With the loss, Lafayette falls to 8-15 overall and 2-6 in Patriot League play. The Mids sweep the season series from the Leopards and move to 12-10 on the season with a 5-3 league tally.
Homan's 16 points came on 7-for-14 shooting from the field and a 2-for-3 day at the free throw line. As a team, the Leopards were 21-for-58 (36.2 percent) from the floor, 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) from beyond the three-point line and 3-for-7 (42.9 percent) from the charity stripe. Fiacco posted six points for the Leopards, Brya Freeland added five and Linnel Macklin and Ashley Springer scored three points apiece. Madeline Fahan and Maddie Peabody rounded out the scoring with two points each.
Fiacco's two blocks bring her career total to 161, surpassing the mark of 160 set by Lenora Johnson '81. Already the Leopards' single-season record holder with 90 blocks this season, she is five swats shy of the Patriot League single-season tally shared by Fordham's Kelly Roche and Bucknell's Hope Foster. Fiacco entered the weekend ranked second in Division I with 4.0 blocks per game.
The Leopards were slighted on the boards, 39-36, though they did hold a 12-11 edge in second-chance points as each squad hauled in 11 offensive rebounds. Navy was also a bit better at protecting the basketball en route to a 15-13 advantage in turnovers. Despite committing just two fewer miscues, the Mids were the more opportunistic club with 14 points-off-turnovers to Lafayette's seven.
Navy only went on one extended run in the first half - a 9-0 spurt that lasted over four minutes - but the Mids regularly strung together four and five consecutive points to slowly build a double-digit lead. Despite the Leopards' defense forcing several contested jumpers as the shot clock neared expiration, the Mids proved why they are one of the Patriot League's top shooting teams and consistently sank the tough looks en route to a 39-25 halftime lead.
Homan scored eight points in the first half to lead a Lafayette squad that shot 10-for-27 (37 percent) from the floor, 1-for-8 (12.5 percent) from three-point range and 3-for-5 (60 percent) from the free throw line. Navy went 16-for-30 (53.3 percent) from the field with a 2-for-7 (28.6 percent) rate from downtown and a 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) showing at the stripe.
The Leopards traded buckets with the home team for the opening portion of the second half but were unable to put a dent in the halftime deficit. Consecutive field goals by Jordan and Peabody briefly cut the margin down to 12 at 50-38, but the Mids, who had been held in check from beyond the arc to that point, knocked down back-to-back treys to open up their largest lead of the contest at 56-38 with 8:20 remaining. The clubs resumed swapping points for the remainder of the game as Navy closed out a 63-47 decision.
Jade Geif led three Mids in double figures with 14 points as well as a team-high six rebounds.
Lafayette returns to Kirby Sports Center on Wednesday, Feb. 8 for a 7 p.m. showdown with Army. The action will be broadcast live on the Lafayette Sports Network and GoLeopards.com. The Leopards will stay on College Hill this weekend for their annual Think Pink game. That contest against Bucknell tips off at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11.
