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EASTON, Pa. ÃÆ'Æ’¢ÃÆ'¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡¬ÃÆ'¢Ã¢â€š¬Ã…â€Å" In a Patriot League game that came down to the final seconds, it was Navy who claimed the 68-65 victory over the Lafayette women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon in Kirby Sports Center.

The Leopards (2-23, 1-12 PL) shot the ball more efficiently than the Midshipmen (17-6, 11-2 PL), the top scoring team in the league, after shooting a season-best 53.2 percent from the field, but it was not enough as turnovers plagued Lafayette and allowed Navy to take 21 more shots than the Maroon and White, which turned out to make a difference.

Lafayette was led in scoring by Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby, who came up two points shy of tying her career-high with a season-high 19 points. The senior filled the stat sheet with six boards, four assists, three blocks and two steals to go along with her scoring total. Freshman Olivia Gumbs pieced together her third consecutive double-digit performance with 11 points, while Ashley Lutz and Anna Ptasinski each added nine.

The last time Lafayette and Navy met, the Midshipmen used a barrage of 3-pointers to grab a large lead and walk away with the conference win. However, in the second meeting between the two teams, it was the Leopards who caught fire from long range early, scoring 12 of their first 17 from beyond the arc. Lafayette would go on to shoot 41 percent from three against Navy.

The Leopards got things started against the Midshipmen with a pair of 3-pointers by Anna Ptasinski and went ahead 6-2 early. The lead would go back and forth and Navy moved in front after a Taylor Dunham three, but the Leopards would respond with a three of their own by Lutz, which sparked an 11-2 Lafayette run to put the Maroon and White on top 22-15 at the end of the first.

Through much of the second, the Leopards struggled to put the ball in the basket, shooting at a 27 percent clip and going the first five minutes without scoring. On the other end, Navy closed the gap and after putting up seven unanswered points, knotted the game up at 22-22.

Navy had a slim 28-27 lead over the Leopards with less than a minute to go before Ottewill-Soulsby drew contact close to the basket and put it in for a three-point play. The Midshipmen finished the half strong with a 7-0 run though that was capped off by a Dunham three at the Buzzer to give Navy the 35-31 advantage heading into the half.

Four minutes into the third, a full court press was initiated by the Midshipmen and they went on an 11-3 run to go ahead 48-40.

The Navy lead grew to 10, 57-47, early in the fourth, but the Leopards got a three-point play by Ottewill-Soulsby and a three by Lutz to pull within four, 57-53, with eight minutes remaining in the game. Lafayette and Navy would trade baskets for a long stretch, but the deficit got as low as two, 63-61, with three minutes to go after Stipa drove to her right and finished at the basket.

After the lead was pushed back to four, the Leopards turned to Gumbs down the stretch and she delivered with a pair of clutch baskets to even the score up at 65-65 with less than a minute remaining.

Navy had possession of the ball and milked some clock before finding Hannah Fenske on the right side beyond the arc for a 3-point shot that went in to give the Midshipmen the lead. Lafayette dribbled the ball down the court and searched for a three to tie it, but the Ptasinski try came up short and Navy nabbed the conference victory.

The Leopards will be on the road for their next Patriot League game as they head to the nation's capital to square off against American on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.