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EASTON, Pa. – A career-high scoring output from senior guard Jamie O’Hare was not enough for Lafayette in its Patriot League opener, with the Leopards falling 72-59 to Colgate at Kirby Sports Center Tuesday night.

O’Hare poured in 26 points, hitting 11-of-21 shots from the field, to eclipse her previous career-mark of 25 points which was set on Jan. 7, 2015 against Bucknell. Lafayette had no answer, however, for Raider forward Josie Stockill, with the junior contributing 27 points and 13 blocks. The 13 rejections was the most for any player in the NCAA this season, and it broke the previous Patriot League record of 12 set by Danielle Fiacco ’14 on Dec. 28, 2012.

The Leopards (2-7, 0-1 PL) were held to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor for the game. Colgate (2-8, 1-0 PL) never trailed despite hitting only 1-of-17 attempts from 3-point range.

Turnovers hurt the Leopards in the opening 10 minutes, with nine Maroon and White giveaways turning into seven points on the other end for the Raiders. Colgate led by as many as 11 points before Lafayette ended the final 1:59 of the frame on an 8-3 run to reduce the deficit to 19-14.

The Leopards had a promising start to the second quarter, with Sammy Stipa scoring the first four points to get the home team within one at 19-18 with 8:08 left. A 3-point play from the sophomore guard capped off a 9-0 run for the Maroon and White.

The Raiders, though, responded later in the frame with an 8-0 run of their own to once again open up some breathing room, and the visitors took a 33-24 edge into the third. Lafayette, which entered today second in the Patriot League in free throw percentage, struggled at the line early on, hitting only 5-of-12 attempts in the opening half (41.7 percent).

The Leopards twice got within three points in the third quarter, and an O’Hare layup in the first 15 seconds put the deficit at four points (45-41) early on in the fourth, but they were never able to get any closer. The final score was Colgate’s largest advantage of the contest.

Ashley Lutz added a season-high 10 points to go along with eight rebounds in the defeat, and Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby chipped in seven boards for the Maroon and White. With her 26 points, O’Hare has scored 10 or more points in 7-of-9 games this year, and she eclipsed 20 points for the fourth time in 2015-16.

Stockill was one of four players to finish in double-figures for the Raiders, with Randyll Butler (10 points, 10 rebounds) picking up a double-double.

Lafayette has six days off before returning to the court for its final two non-conference games of the season at the University of Virginia’s Cavalier Classic. The Leopards take on Richmond at 4:30 p.m. next Monday at UVA before closing out the tournament against Coppin State the following afternoon.

Notes:

With her team-high steals, O’Hare continued her streak of having at least three swipes in every game this season. She entered tonight ranked second in the NCAA with 4.0 steals per game. Lafayette’s streak of reaching double-digit steals, however, ended at three games after the Leopards were held to seven thefts overall.

Lafayette was reduced to 10 healthy players after Maia Hood left the game early in the second quarter with an apparent leg injury. She had five points in 12 minutes of play before leaving the court.

Stockill entered today’s game ranked third in the NCAA with 3.7 blocks per game.