Jan. 16, 2013

Box Score | Photo Gallery

EASTON, Pa. - An Army 16-0 run from 12:27 to 6:11 on the clock in the second stanza sealed the Leopards fate as the Lafayette women's basketball team lost to Army, 63-43 on Wednesday evening inside Kirby Sports Center.

Despite playing the Black Knights to within five at the break, the Leopards tallied just 17 points in the second half compared to Army's 32.

Sophomore co-captain Emily Homan and junior Madeline Fahan led the way for Lafayette, each notching 10 points for the game. Fahan went 4-for-5 from the floor off the bench and Homan snagged eight rebounds and four blocks. Army's freshman point guard Kelsey Minato led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. She was 3-for-7 from three-point range and converted on her two free-throw attempts.

The Leopards shot 17-for-59 (28.8%) from the field for the game and just 7-for-35 (20%) in the second half. In contrast, the Black Knights (13-4, 2-0) knocked down 22 of their 45 shots from the floor (48.9%) and 5-for-12 from beyond the arc (41.7%). One bright spot for Lafayette was in the turnover department, as it only coughed the ball up 12 times throughout the game.

After a sloppy opening 1:50, freshman Jamie O'Hare banked in a shot from the right corner beyond the three-point arc to put the Leopards (7-10, 0-2) on the board first. Army's Aimee Oertner, from Slatington, Pa., notched her first bucket of the contest at the 16:54 mark to bring the score to 6-4 in favor of the Leopards.

A flagrant foul for a thrown elbow was called on Homan at the 14:11 mark led to two free throws from Army's Olivia Schretzman and sparked a 10-0 run, ending at the 12:19 mark with Army leading, 14-9.

With 10:30 to play in the first, O'Hare nabbed an errant Army pass in the left corner. From there, she sprinted down the court and found a cutting Homan down the middle for an easy layup and cut the lead to five at 17-12.

A bucket from junior Madeline Fahan and a foul-line jumper from Homan helped Lafayette secure the lead at the 8:44 mark, 18-17. On the ensuing possession, though, Minato drilled a three-pointer from the right wing and gave the Black Knights the 20-18 advantage.

The Black Knights' Jean Parker drained a shot from distance at the 4:02 mark to put the Black Knights up 27-20. Army took a 31-26 lead into halftime.

O'Hare's drive and kick with 17:12 left in the second left Homan with an easy baseline jump shot that brought the Leopards within two of the lead, 32-30. On the following possession, Schretzman grabbed an offensive board and hit the baseline jumper to put the Black Knights back up by four.

With 12:52 on the clock, Fiacco posted up on the high right elbow and received the entry pass from O'Hare. Instead of settling for the turnaround jumper, she found a cutting Macklin on the weak side, who rattled in the layup and brought the Leopards within one at 35-34. Following a Fiacco block on Army's next offensive possession, O'Hare knocked down 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game at 35.

Schretzman's drive and foul at the 9:06 mark put the Black Knights up by seven, 42-35. On Army's next offensive possession, Minato was left open just inside the three-point line and nailed it, forcing a timeout from head coach Dianne Nolan with 8:24 remaining and the score, 44-35.

The Black Knights tallied five more before the eight-minute media timeout, leading 49-35 with 6:51 to go in the contest.

Lafayette went cold for the remainder of the game, making three of its final 14 attempts from the field. The Black Knights slowly extended the lead and closed it out in the end with a final of 63-43.

The Maroon and White will stay in Easton through the weekend, as they host Bucknell on Saturday at 2 p.m. inside Kirby Sports Center.