Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - For a 10-minute stretch in the second half of Wednesday night's contest at Lehigh, Lafayette could do no wrong.

Down by 24 points midway through the third quarter, the Leopards went on an incredible 32-8 run over the next 9:58, and when Anna Ptasinski drained the last of her four 3-pointers on the evening with 6:56 remaining in the game, the Maroon and White had come all the way back to tie the score up at 65-65.

Unfortunately, however, the visitors did not have enough left to complete the comeback, as the Mountain Hawks regained their advantage on a pair of 3-pointers and held on for an eventual 82-74 victory.

"We really fought hard in the second half," head coach Theresa Grentz said. "The team continues to get better, but it wasn't enough to get us a win tonight. We just have to be able to start better, and the free throws really hurt us tonight as well."

Lafayette (4-14, 2-6 PL) shot over 60 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes, including a 6-for-6 performance from long distance, and five players scored in double figures for the first time this season. An uncharacteristic 5-for-15 performance at the free throw line, though, slowed the attempted rally, especially with Lehigh (12-7, 5-3 PL) hitting 17 of its 21 attempts from the charity stripe.

Lafayette was coming off its best performance on the glass in nearly two years, outrebounding American 47-31 in last Wednesday's victory, but the Mountain Hawks dominated the glass in the opening quarter this evening. Lehigh had a 19-7 edge on the glass, including a 10-1 advantage on the offensive side of the ball.

The extra opportunities led to a 25-14 Lehigh lead after the opening 10 minutes. The Maroon and White got off to a strong start in the second, as a Jamie O'Hare layup capped a 9-3 run to reduce the deficit down to 28-23 with 6:52 on the clock.

The home team responded with a 13-1 spurt over the next 3:28, increasing the lead to 17 points, and that advantage was up to 19 before Ptasinski hit a last-minute 3-pointer to make it 47-31 heading into the intermission.

The Mountain Hawks then started the second half on a 10-2 run, to grab their largest lead at 57-33 with 6:54 on the clock.

Sammy Stipa, who had seven of her 13 points for the game in the third quarter, started the Leopards' big run with a jumper from the top of the circle. Lafayette would go on to score 13 unanswered, capped by a Ptasinski 3-pointer, before Lehigh briefly stopped the bleeding with a long ball of its own.

Ptasinski was active all over the court, setting a new career-high with seven assists to go along with 12 points (on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range) and five rebounds. The Leopards had 24 assists overall, tied for the most by a Patriot League team this season.

Stipa and Maia Hood each hit long balls in the last 1:17 to get the deficit down to single digits at 63-55 heading into the final quarter. Lafayette then used an 8-0 run, with a layup from Stipa and 3-pointers from O'Hare and Ptasinski to tie the score for the first time since opening tip.

Ptasinski's 3-ball would turn out to be the Maroon and White's last field goal for over five minutes. Lehigh scored 11 points during that stretch, including crucial corner long balls from Kayla Burton and Amina Affini, to regain a 76-66 edge. The Leopards would get no closer than six the rest of the way.

"Those 3-pointers were really key at the end," Grentz remarked. "Those were baskets that we did not recover from, but you have to give them credit for hitting the shots.

Ashley Lutz scored a team-high 16 points to reach double figures for the third time in four contests, hitting 7-of-11 shots from the floor. She was joined in double digits by Stipa, Ptasinski, O'Hare (11 points) and Hood (10 points).

Lafayette struggled all night to contain Lehigh's Lexi Martins. The junior forward had 19 points and 11 rebounds at the break, and she would end up with game-high totals of 27 points and 15 boards.

The Leopards look to bounce back Saturday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center, when Loyola comes to town for a 2 p.m. contest.

Notes:

Lafayette had five players score in double figures for the first time since Feb. 5, 2014 against Bucknell. The Leopards became the first team to accomplish that feat in a Patriot League regulation game this season.

O'Hare added six assists on the evening, and she is now first in the conference with 4.2 helpers per game on the year.