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EASTON, Pa. -- A much-improved Lafayette offense took the court for Friday night's home opener against Duquesne, scoring a season-high 65 points, led by 22 from senior guard Jamie O'Hare.

The Dukes, however, were strong offensively as well, hitting over 50 percent of their shots and holding off the Leopards in the second half for a 73-65 victory.

O'Hare's 22 points were three-shy of a career-high, and Sammy Stipa set a new career-best with 12 points in the defeat. Duquesne, which has reached the WNIT Postseason Tournament in seven consecutive seasons, was paced by a 24-point performance from April Robinson.

"This was certainly an encouraging performance," head coach Theresa Grentz said. "We can't worry about our record right now, we have to be concerned with our performance as a team and whether we're getting better. We were able to outrebound a talented Duquesne team tonight, and that was a result of hard work. The harder we work, the better things will get for us as the season goes on."

Lafayette ended the contest with a 38-34 edge on the glass, including with 19 of those boards coming on the offensive side of the ball. Five of those offensive rebounds came from Maia Hood, while Ashley Lutz grabbed four of her team-high nine rebounds on the offensive end.

The first quarter and a half belonged to the Dukes, with the visitors hitting 16 of their first 24 attempts from the floor (66.7 percent) and jumping out to a 36-22 advantage with 5:20 left in the second.

Duquesne (2-1) began to cool off for the remainder of the half, and the Leopards took advantage. A 3-pointer from Stipa began an 8-0 run which reduced the deficit down to six points. The Dukes ended that stretch with a layup from Kadri-Ann Lass, but O'Hare responded with a 3-pointer to make it 38-33, the closest the Leopards had been since the early stages of the first quarter.

Lafayette ended the first half trailing 40-35. The Maroon and White's 19-point output in the second was their highest total in a quarter in the season's first three games.

O'Hare picked up the first points of the third quarter with a layup, cutting the margin to three points. Duquesne followed with back-to-back layups of its own, and the visitors maintained a multiple-possession advantage for the rest of the quarter.

Trailing by nine heading into the fourth, the Leopards got within six points on three separate occasions, but were never able to get enough consistent stops on defense to get any closer.

O'Hare finished 9 of 16 from the floor, and she hit 3 of 7 attempts from 3-point range. Robinson, meanwhile, was one of four players who reached double figures for the Dukes.

Lafayette (0-3) heads back on the road for its next matchup, a 2 p.m. tilt against Hartford on Sunday. The Leopards topped the Hawks 74-59 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools last November.

Notes:

O'Hare added seven rebounds, three steals and three assists in a solid all-around effort. The three assists moved her into a tie for 10th place in program history with Maureen McKenna '83. O'Hare has dished out 282 helpers in her time on College Hill.

Lafayette had a commanding edge at the charity stripe, hitting 18 of 22 free throw attempts compared to 6 of 8 for Duquesne. Angela Ribarich led the Maroon and White's efforts on the line, hitting all six of her free throw shots.

Stipa's previous career-high in points was an eight-point effort against Lehigh during her freshman season on Jan. 25, 2015.