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EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette women's basketball team dropped its season opener to La Salle Friday night in Kirby Sports Center in head coach Kia Damon's coaching debut.

Offensively, the Leopards were led by the talented freshman duo of Olivia Martino and Natalie Kucowski, who finished with 16 and 13, respectively.

Both teams were feeling each other out early on, with neither gaining much of an edge over the other. The Leopards came out in a 2-3 zone that kept the Explorers at bay in the early going of the quarter. The Leopards were out rebounded in the opening period 13-5. The Maroon and White kept it close for the majority of the quarter but turnovers haunted the Leopards as La Salle went on a 10-2 run that put Lafayette in a 20-7 hole.

The second quarter saw the Leopards defense really come alive and fuel the offense, as the Maroon and White scored six points off of turnovers in the quarter. La Salle maintained its lead but the Leopards outscored the Explorers 15-13. The Maroon and White amped up the intensity on defense and forced La Salle into shooting 37 percent from the floor in the second quarter.

Martino, led the charge coming out of the break for the Leopards. The Lanham, Md. native scored the Leopards' first bucket of the quarter and then engineered a fast break that led to another easy lay-in for Kucowski.

Back-to-back buckets from Alex Cantwell cut the deficit to 24-15. Her second bucket showed how the Leopards can turn offense into defense after Kucowski intercepted a pass in the post and initiated the break before Sammy Stipa calmly fed the cutting Cantwell for the easy two.

The Maroon and White headed into halftime trailing leading 32-22 and the Leopards were poised to battle back to open the third. The Explorers kept their foot on the gas to start the quarter as they opened up a 26-point lead after going a 19-3 run. Amy Griffin caught fire from deep knocked down five threes. The Leopards couldn't answer on the offensive end as they shot 29 percent from the floor as a team in the quarter.

Tasha Vipond and Kucowski finished with six boards a piece for the Leopards. Griffin led all scorers with 30. La Salle held the edge in rebounds, 49-32.

The Maroon and White are back in action on Sunday when they head to St. Peter's for a 1 p.m. showdown.