Jan. 15, 2014

Easton, Pa. - Lafayette used a balanced attack to take out Loyola, 65-53, on Wednesday night to improve to 2-3 in the Patriot League and 8-8 overall. Lafayette had 12 players in the scoring column and shot a season-high 49.1 percent from the floor, powered by Emily Homan's team-high 11 points.

Kelly Loughney finished with nine points, while Jamie O'Hare grabbed a team-high six rebounds and eight points. Maddie Peabody and Madeline Fahan each scored seven points, while Kristan Liddle chipped in a season-high six points. Brya Freeland tied her career-high with six assists, while Danielle Fiacco blocked four shots and now needs three blocks to break the Patriot League career record.

The Greyhounds dropped to 1-3 in their first season in the league and were led by Nai Brown's game-high 14 points. Lisa Mirarchi finished with 10 points and Jeneh Perry grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss.

Homan and Liddle opened the scoring for the Leopards with buckets on the first two possessions. With Lafayette ahead by two at the 12:34 mark of the opening half, Freeland hit a driving layup and completed the three-point from the free throw line to give the Leopards a five-point lead. A three from Jamie O'Hare pushed the lead to eight, 14-6 at the under 12 media timeout.

Maddie Peabody buried a three from the top of the key to increase the Leopards advantage to 13, 21-8, with 7:55 to play in the opening frame. A steal from Fahan led to a triple at the other end from O'Hare and forced a Loyola timeout with Lafayette leading 26-10. The Greyhounds used an 8-1 run to close the gap to single digits, 27-18, with three minutes to play in the first half.

Lafayette answered with 7-2 spurt, including a three and a jumper from Loughney, to bump the lead back up to 11, 34-23, with under a minute to play in the half. The Leopards took a nine-point cushion into the break.

The Maroon and White opened the second half on a 6-2 run highlighted by a pair of Liddle baskets to push the lead to 13, 40-27. A jumper from the wing from Fahan increased the advantage to 15. Homan finished at the low block and completed the three-point play at the charity stripe as Lafayette held a 45-27 lead with 15:58 on the clock.

Loyola knocked down a pair of threes, but the Leopards answered with a pair of buckets from Fiacco and basket from Annette Snow to maintain a 17-point lead at the 13-minute mark. Maia Hood entered the game for Lafayette and immediately buried a jumper. Lafayette held a 56-39 lead at the under eight media timeout.

Peabody increased the lead to a game-high 19, 58-39, with seven minutes to play. O'Hare dished to Fiacco under the hoop for an easy two, as the Leopards led 62-44 with 3:45 on the clock. The Maroon and White maintained the lead and went on to defeat the Greyhounds, 65-53.

Lafayette remains at home this weekend as they take on American on Saturday at 2 p.m.