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EASTON, Pa. - Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby scored nine of her 12 points in the fourth quarter, and Angela Ribarich sank two go-ahead free throws with 1:51 remaining to help lift Lafayette to a 72-69 victory over Saint Peter's Sunday afternoon.

Ribarich, who ended the game with a season-high 15 points and six rebounds off the bench, gave the Leopards a 70-68 edge with under two minutes to play. After the Peacocks made 1 of 2 free throws with 54 seconds left, Jamie O'Hare expanded the lead to three with two makes from the line, and the visitors missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to wrap up Lafayette's first win of 2015-16.

O'Hare finished with a game-high 22 points, to go along with six assists and five of the Leopards' 16 steals overall. Maia Hood added 11 points and 10 rebounds (seven on the offensive end) to register Lafayette's first double-double of the season.

"We stayed together as a team tonight and finished strong," head coach Theresa Grentz said. "This is only one step, but we've made some great progress in the last two weeks. They trusted each other down the stretch, and you can't ask for anything more than that as a coach."

Lafayette committed turnovers on each of its first three possessions, and the Peacocks took advantage to jump out to an 8-0 lead in the opening two minutes of play. The lead was 14-8 at the end of the first quarter. Hood came off the bench to provide six of those eight points, sinking all four of her free throw attempts.

The Leopards forced a Saint Peter's timeout with 6:58 to go in the second after O'Hare's 145th-career 3-pointer reduced the deficit down to 18-16. They got as close as 25-24 when the senior guard drained a layup with 5:33 left, but the Peacock advantage was back up to 33-28 at halftime.

Ribarich supplied a spark off the bench in the second, scoring 10 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the floor.

"The other teams really have trouble with Angela because of her size and strength," Grentz remarked. "We've loosened up the offense a little bit to put her in the best position. In front of the basket is where she needs to be."

Trailing 40-33 in the third quarter, an O'Hare basket began an 8-0 run for Lafayette, and Sammy Stipa sank a layup with 4:51 left to give the Maroon and White its first lead at 41-40. The Peacocks (1-5) rallied to go back up 50-45 before a Ribarich jumper capped a 6-0 stretch to close the quarter for the Leopards.

Ottewill-Soulsby entered the fourth quarter with three points on the day, but she caught fire midway through the frame, scoring nine unanswered for the home team. Her jumper with 5:11 to go broke the second tie of the contest and made it 62-60, Lafayette, and she added a 3-point play on the next possession to move the lead up to five. The 12 points for the game marked a new career-high for the junior co-captain.

Saint Peter's had one more run remaining, with Sajanna Betheae knotting the score at 68-68 on a jumper with 2:12 on the clock. Betheae led the visitors with 20 points and 10 rebounds, hitting all 10 of her free throw attempts.

Betheae's jumper set up Ribarich's go-ahead free throws 21 seconds later, and Lafayette's defense stood strong in the final two minutes to secure the victory.

"I'm really pleased that we only had four turnovers in the second half," Grentz concluded. "We took care of the basketball, we didn't try to force things individually and as a result we were able to get a win."

The Leopards (1-5) will remain at Kirby Sports Center for their next contest, as St. Francis Brooklyn comes to College Hill Friday night for a 7 p.m. tilt.

Notes:

Lafayette's 16 steals today were the most in a game since the Leopards also managed 16 thefts against Bucknell on Feb. 18, 2009.

O'Hare's 22 points matched her season-high, and she has scored in double figures in 4 of 6 games this fall.

Tonight was the 672 win of Grentz's storied 34-year head coaching career, moving her alone into 29th place all-time among NCAA women's basketball coaches.