Box Score

 

EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette fell behind early during Wednesday’s Patriot League matchup with Army, and the Leopards were never able to catch up to the Black Knights in a 78-45 defeat at Kirby Sports Center.

Kelsey Minato entered tonight leading the conference in scoring with 23.6 points per game, and she lived up to that reputation with a 30-point performance on 12-of-15 shooting from the field on the evening. Aimee Oertner added 19 points and seven blocks for Army (11-2, 2-1 PL).

Alex Cantwell contributed a season-high 11 points for Lafayette (2-11, 0-3 PL), which has now lost six-straight games. Jamie O’Hare and Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby also cracked double figures with 10 points apiece.

Both teams started sluggishly on the offensive end, with Army holding a slim 6-4 advantage at the first media timeout. Cantwell had each of the first two baskets for the Maroon and White.

The Black Knights began to take control in the later stages of the first. Leading 11-7 with 3:19 remaining, they closed the frame on a 7-0 spurt, and Parker and Minato added a pair of 3-pointers to begin the second before an Ashley Lutz jumper stopped the run at 13.

The visitors took a 33-19 into the third quarter. After an O’Hare layup began the frame, Army scored the next nine points to get its lead up to 21, and the advantage continued to grow as the half went on. The Black Knights led by as many as 40 midway through the fourth.

With her 10 points, O’Hare reached double-digits for an eighth-consecutive contest. Cantwell’s 11 points came on 3-of-5 shooting, and she also made five of her seven attempts from the charity stripe.

Ottewill-Soulsby, in addition to reaching 10 points for a third game in a row, grabbed a game-high seven boards for the Maroon and White.

Army shot 51.7 percent from the floor compared to just 28.8 percent for the Leopards.

Lafayette will look to recover Saturday afternoon against Boston University. The Terriers (0-13, 0-2) play at Navy tomorrow night before heading to College Hill for a 2 p.m. tilt this weekend.