Box Score

EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette women's basketball team won its second straight game on Saturday afternoon, securing a 14 point victory over LIU Brooklyn by a final score of 69-53. Today's win marked the first time since the 2015-16 season (11/29, 12/4) that the Leopards have earned back-to-back wins.

The Maroon and White (2-3) used a strong defensive effort to stifle the Blackbirds (2-3) and get out ahead early before letting its offense take over as the game wound to a close. Every Lafayette player that hit the floor during the contest scored at least three points, as the Leopards had 10 players in the scoring column. Natalie Kucowski led the Maroon and White with 15 points while Olivia Martino was hot on her heels with 14.

The Leopards battled in the opening quarter, weathering a 10-3 run by the Blackbirds to start the game. The Maroon and White got into their defensive groove from there, locking down LIU while the offense answered on the other end with a 9-0 run highlighted by back-to-back buckets from Santarelli. The Leopards headed into the media timeout with their first lead of the game at 12-10 before things got all knotted at 14-14 to bring the quarter to a close.

"We were getting good looks early and the ball just wasn't falling," said head coach Kia Damon. "I told them to slow down and wait for good looks. Once we started making a few layups our long shots started to fall."

Each team's defensive pressure ticked up in the second quarter, with two points being scored in the opening five minutes of the quarter, both from the Leopards. The Maroon and White found the basket with two straight scores from Ellen Graham and Sarah Agnello, capping a 9-0 run to give Lafayette a 23-14 lead. The Maroon and White's 2-3 zone gave the Blackbirds fits, holding LIU to two points in the quarter. Alex Cantwell knocked down a jumper to end the half, and the Maroon and White headed into the break leading 27-16.

The Blackbirds battled back in the third quarter, shooting a 41 percent from the field and pouring in 18 points. Lafayette weathered the storm, knocking down 53 percent of their shots from the floor Martino went a perfect 3-3 from deep in the quarter, helping maintain Lafayette's lead. Drew Freeland dropped in a runner from the lane to send the Leopards into the final quarter maintaining a 12 point lead.

The Maroon and White traded buckets with LIU for the majority of the fourth quarter. Lafayette kept pace with the Blackbirds attack, pouring in a game-high 23 points while shooting a 52 percent from the floor. With the damage already done, the Leopards held on to walk away with a 69-53 victory.

Today's win marked the third time this season a freshman has led the Maroon and White in scoring. The Leopards won the battle on the boards, 38-33. Martino led Lafayette with three steals, while Freeland set a new career-high with a game-high nine rebounds.

The Leopards are back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Ithaca, N.Y. to take on Cornell in a 7 p.m. contest.