New York, N.Y. - A late push from the Lafayette women's basketball team wasn't enough as Columbia was able to convert from the free throw line down the stretch and take down the Leopards, 72-65, on Wednesday night in New York. Emily Homan finished with a game-high 22 points.

The Leopards moved to 1-1 on the season, while Columbia improved to 1-2. The Lions held a 45-39 edge on the glass, while both teams handed out ten assists in the contest. Homan also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in the loss. Linnel Macklin and Maddie Peabody finished in double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively. For Columbia, Camille Zimmerman led the way with a double-double, 19 points and 11 rebounds.

A driving lay-in from Macklin cut the early Columbia lead to 7-6 at the 15 minute mark of the first half. The Lions used a 5-0 spurt to take a 12-6 advantage into the under 12 media timeout.

Trailing 18-10, Peabody and Homan executed a perfect pick and roll to trim the deficit to six with eight minutes to go in the half. Columbia pushed its lead to as many as 11 late in the first half and went into the break ahead, 31-20. The Leopards struggled from the field in the opening half, shooting 25 percent from the field.

Homan scored the first four points of the second half to cut the Columbia lead to seven, 31-24. The Lions answered as Camille Zimmerman converted a three-point play to stretch the advantage back to ten with 14:45 to play.

At the 13 minute mark, the Leopards trimmed the Columbia edge to nine on a corner three from Jamie O'Hare. The Lions countered with a seven-point spurt to take a 47-31 lead midway through the second half.

A turnaround jumper from Homan, followed by another O'Hare triple, pulled the Leopards to within nine, 47-38, with nine minutes to play. On Columbia's next possession, a long two at the other end from Carolyn Gallagher pushed the Columbia lead back to double digits.

With seven minutes to play Peabody buried a three in front of the Lafayette bench, followed by a Homan layup, making it a 10-point game. After a triple from the Lions, Macklin knocked down another three for the Leopards, but Columbia still held a 56-46 lead.

The teams exchanged buckets over the next three minutes, as the Lions maintained their lead, 60-49 with 3:28 to play. Macklin hit 2-of-3 from the charity stripe to trim the deficit to nine at the three-minute mark.

The Leopards continued to dig into the Lion advantage at the free throw line, as Homan knocked down a pair with 2:30 to play to make it a seven-point game. After Columbia converted from the foul line, to push its lead up to 11, O'Hare answered at the opposite end with her second triple of the night to cut it to eight with 1:47 on the clock.

Lafayette forced a ten-second violation on the ensuing possession. Off the turnover, Macklin buried another three to trim the Columbia lead to five, but the Lions countered with a bucket at the other end. Peabody answered for the Leopards with a three-point play on Lafayette's next possession to keep the difference at five, but that was as close as the Leopards got, as Columbia converted from the free throw line on in the final thirty seconds and escaped with a 72-65 victory over the Leopards.

Lafayette returns to Kirby Sports Center on Sunday afternoon when they host Hartford at 2 p.m.