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EASTON, Pa. ÃÆ'Æ’¢ÃÆ'¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡¬ÃÆ'¢Ã¢â€š¬Ã…â€Å" After slipping behind early to the visiting Crusaders, the Leopards battled back behind a strong second quarter but couldn't take the lead as Holy Cross took advantage of Lafayette's miscues all afternoon to earn a 69-56 win at Kirby Sports Center.

"We just have to learn from our mistakes today," said senior Sammy Stipa. "We have to make adjustments and keep fighting hard in our next game and get better from here on out."

Holy Cross' offense was humming for the majority of the afternoon, spurred on by a game-high 27 points from Lauren Manis. Infiniti Thomas-Waheed finished with 19 points while racking up five steals. Turnovers were a theme throughout the day, and while the Leopards only finished with two more than the visitors, Holy Cross capitalized on the miscues finishing with 22 points off of turnovers. Natalie Kucowski answered for the Leopards on the offensive end, finishing with her eighth double-double of the season (14 pts., 16 reb.).

The loss moves the Leopards to 8-12 overall on the season with a 4-6 mark in Patriot League play. Holy Cross improves to 10-11 overall and holds an even 5-5 record in the league.

Kucowski opened the scoring for the Maroon and White, knocking down three from the top of the arc to knot the score at 3-3, but the Crusaders took a 12-6 lead into the media timeout on the heels of an 8-3 run. Anna Ptasinski knocked down a jumper coming out of the timeout to cut Holy Cross' lead to four, but the Crusaders amped up the pressure, going an 11-2 run to close out the quarter. Holy Cross feasted on Lafayette's miscues to finish the period with 11 points off of turnovers. Olivia Martino added two from the charity stripe to close out the quarter with the Leopards down 23-10.

The Leopards battled back in the second quarter, not allowing a basket from the Crusaders for over seven minutes of action. While the Maroon and White locked things down on defense, their offense came alive, using a 15-0 run to get back into the contest. Stipa fueled the offensive outburst, supplying eight of the 15 points, kick starting the run with a trey before adding back-to-back baskets to cut the lead to 31-26. Ellen Graham and Kucowski finished off the run at the charity stripe, sending the Crusaders reeling into the half with Lafayette back within two at 31-29.

Holy Cross came out firing to start the third quarter, using a 13-2 run over the first 3:32 to put the Leopards down 44-31. Alexis Santarelli and Martino ended the onslaught with back-to-back buckets to cut the lead to 44-36 heading into the media timeout. Holy Cross outscored the Leopards 16-6 the rest of the way as Lafayette struggled to get its shots to fall, going 4-for-18 (22%) from the floor during the quarter.

The scoring slowed down in the fourth quarter, but the damage was already done for the Leopards as Holy Cross maintained its lead and road it through the quarter to close out a 69-56 victory. Manis continued her scoring outburst to start the quarter, pouring in the first five points of the period. Drew Freeland, Ptasinski and Santarelli combined for seven straight points to cut the lead to 65-49, but the deficit was too large as the Maroon and White fell at home.

Martino finished in double-figures with 10 points while Stipa tied her season-high with nine. Lafayette outrebounded the Crusaders, 39-31. Holy Cross had an efficient day from the floor, shooting 44 percent while the Leopards hit at a 31 percent clip.

The Maroon and White have a week off before returning to the court next Saturday when they welcome Bucknell to Kirby Sports Center for a 2 p.m. tip-off. Saturday's contest features as the Leopards Play4Kay game to support breast cancer awareness and research. You can learn more about Lafayette's fundraiser here.