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Easton, Pa. – The Lafayette women’s basketball team pulled to within a bucket down the stretch, but was unable to get over the hump, as Bucknell held on for a 77-71 win on Wednesday night. The Leopards had three chances to tie or take the lead in the final four minutes.

Jamie O'Hare tallied a career-high 25 points, while Emily Homan scored 21 to lead the Leopards. O’Hare’s 25 points came on 10-of-14 shooting including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Bucknell was led by Audrey Dotson with 20 points and seven rebounds.

Ashley Lutz scored five of Lafayette’s first nine points, but Bucknell took the early lead, 13-9 at the first media timeout. Back-to-back threes from O’Hare and Annette Snow pushed the Leopards ahead 19-16 at the 12-minute mark. Maddie Peabody extended the Lafayette lead to 26-21.

Bucknell got back into the game with a 9-2 run to jump ahead, 30-28 with seven and a half minutes to play in the first half. O’Hare drove baseline for a reverse lay-in and followed that with a steal and bucket to pull the Leopards within a point, 33-32. The Bison used a 13-0 spurt to take a 46-32 lead and held a 48-34 advantage at the break.

Lafayette opened the half on a 7-2 run to trim the deficit to nine with 16 minutes to play. Sammy Stipa found a breaking O’Hare in transition and the Leopards pulled to within seven, 52-45, at the 15-minute mark. A three-pointer from Jacquie Klotz extended the Bison lead to 12.

Back-to-back buckets from Stipa cut the edge to seven, 57-50, with 11:35 to play. Bucknell increased its lead back to double figures, but the Leopards knocked down 5-of-6 from the free throw line on their next three possessions to trim the deficit to six.

The teams exchanged buckets over the next four minutes before a pair of buckets from Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby made it four-point spread with 4:48 on the clock. Ottewill-Soulsby came up with a big defensive stop, swatting away a Bucknell layup, and then converting a pair from the charity stripe to slice the margin to two with four minutes to play.

Bucknell bumped its lead back to six, 70-64, with less than two minutes to play, as the Bison knocked down four straight from the free throw line. Homan answered at the other end with a pair for the Leopards.

O’Hare drove the lane for a bucket, making it a four-point game with 51.9 to play. After Bucknell knocked down a pair from the free throw line, O’Hare buried a three from the corner, cutting the deficit to five, but Bucknell converted from the line in the final 30 seconds.

The Leopards finish their two-game homestand against Boston University on Saturday afternoon. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m.

Notes:

O'Hare also set a career-high with 10 field goals

Homan scored in double figures for the 15^th straight game.