Box Score

BRONX, N.Y. - For the second-straight game, Lafayette found itself in an early 9-0 deficit on the road. The Leopards once again rallied to take the lead, jumping ahead midway through the second quarter, but host Fordham recovered and pulled away late for a 61-49 victory.

Maia Hood had another outstanding game off the bench for the Leopards, contributing a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Ashley Lutz chipped in a season-high 11 boards for the Maroon and White.

Samantha Clark (15 points, 10 rebounds) and G'mrice Davis (11 points, 10 rebounds) both registered double-doubles for the Rams (2-1), who have qualified for the postseason in each of the past three years.

Lafayette was held off the scoreboard until Lutz sank a jump shot with 4:31 left in the first. That field goal, though, began an 8-0 run for the Leopards, and the lead was only 11-8 in favor of Fordham at the end of the quarter.

The Leopards continued their stronger play in the second. A Jamie O'Hare layup with 5:42 on the clock capped a 7-0 run for the visitors and put them in front 17-16. Clark responded with a layup for the Rams, but Angela Ribarich put Lafayette back up by one shortly afterwards. The freshman center supplied six points and two blocks over 13 minutes of play.

That would turn out to be the final lead for the Leopards. Fordham took a 25-21 edge into halftime, and after Anna Ptasinski opened the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer, the Rams scored seven unanswered points and expanded their lead to 43-29 by the end of the frame. Lafayette was unable to cut into that 14-point deficit until Hood sank a long ball at the buzzer.

The Maroon and White continued to shoot the ball well from the free throw line, hitting 15 of 20 attempts from the charity stripe. The Leopards have shot 75 percent or better from the line in three-consecutive games. From the floor, however, they converted on a season-worst 24.6 percent of their attempts (14-57). Fordham shot 37.7 percent (20-53), and had a 24-12 advantage on points in the paint.

Hood's 18 points came on 5 of 13 shooting (3 of 6 from long distance), and she drained five of her six free throw attempts. The junior guard surpassed her career-high total of 16 points which was set in Lafayette's previous game against Hartford on Sunday.

After a brief break for Thanksgiving, the Leopards (0-5) return home to Kirby Sports Center for their next matchup, a 4:30 p.m. tilt against Saint Peter's on Sunday.

Notes:

O'Hare had a team-high four assists tonight, giving her 290 for her career on College Hill and moving her into a tie for eighth place in program history with Sharon Basso '83 and Nancy Lembo '88.

Tonight's game, originally scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., was pushed back to 6:15 after Lafayette's bus encountered New York City traffic at its finest and failed to arrive to the Rose Hill Gym until 5:40.