Jan. 18, 2014

Easton, Pa. - American downed Lafayette, 72-57, on Saturday afternoon in Patriot League women's basketball action. The Eagles used a 12-0 spurt in the first half to take a double-digit lead, and controlled the game the rest of the way.

Jamie O'Hare paced the Leopards with a game-high 14 points, knocking down three three-pointers. Linnel Macklin finished with 13 points after missing a pair of games with a knee injury. The Eagles were led by Alexis Dobbs and Arron Zimmerman, who each chipped in 12 points, while Geleisa George finished with 11 as part of a balanced scoring effort.

Maddie Peabody knocked down a triple from the top of the key to give the Leopards their only lead of the afternoon, 3-2, in the opening minute, but American answered with a 12-0 run to take an early 14-3 advantage.

Macklin knocked down the Leopards second three to trim the deficit to eight with 14:30 left in the half. The Eagles scored the next seven points to increase their lead to 15, 21-6. Macklin ended Lafayette's scoring drought with a driving layup, but American still held a 22-8 lead at the 7:56 mark.

American stretched its lead to as many as 20 late in the first half, 34-14. The Leopards closed the half on a 7-4 spurt on a pair of jumpers from Kelly Loughney and a three from Maia Hood. The Eagles led 38-21 at the half.

O'Hare started the scoring in the second half scoring on the Leopards' first possession, but the Eagles answered scoring the next four points. American maintained its advantage, taking a 46-27 lead into the under 16 media timeout.

A 5-2 run out of the timeout bolstered the American lead to 22, 51-29, with 12:24 left to play. Madeline Fahan knocked down a baseline jumper with 10 and a half minutes to play, as Lafayette trailed, 53-31. Macklin buried her second three of the afternoon on the Leopards' next possession.

After an American bucket, O'Hare knocked down a triple to cut the lead to 15 with four minutes to go. The Leopards cut the lead to 14 with 1:23 to play on another three from O'Hare, but that was as close as Lafayette would get.

The Leopards fell to 2-4 in league play, while the Eagles improved to 5-1. American shot 51.1 percent from the field and went 6-for-13 from distance, compared to the Leopards 36.2 percent and 7-for-21 from beyond the arc. American held a 39-28 edge on the glass, as Lafayette dropped to 0-5 when being outrebounded by its opponent.

Lafayette travels to Worcester, Mass. on Wednesday night to take on Holy Cross at 7 p.m. before returning to Kirby Sports Center to play rival Lehigh on Saturday afternoon opening tip set for 2 p.m.