WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Lafayette women's basketball team took a lead into the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon, but could not hold off the defending Patriot League champions in the final 10 minutes, falling 60-45 at Bender Arena.
 
Lafayette (7-12, 2-6 PL) had an answer for every one of American's runs, but ultimately ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.
 
The Eagles (11-8, 7-1 PL) opened the game on an 8-0 run before the Leopards closed the quarter on an 8-2 run of their own and held American scoreless for the final 5:14 to head into the second quarter down by just two.
 
Freshman Nicole Johnson sparked the run with a pull-up jumper that preceded a pair of 3-pointers by sophomores Natalie Kucowski and Drew Freeland.
 
A similar story unfolded in the second stanza, when American went on a 6-0 run in the opening 2:15. Lafayette quickly answered when junior Sydney Sabino gathered her own miss and hit a 15-footer, senior Alex Cantwell made a layup and freshman Jiselle Havas knocked down a jumper to lead into the media timeout.
 
The Maroon and White erased a seven-point deficit in the final 1:27 of the half to go into the locker room tied at 26. Freeland connected on her second 3-pointer of the afternoon, sophomore Olivia Martino hit a jumper, and Kucowski polished it off with a pair of free throws right before the half.
 
The two 3-pointers by Freeland moved her into a three-way tie on the all-time Lafayette 3-point field goals list with teammate Martino and April Shippee '96 with 55 in their careers.
 
Lafayette finally began a quarter with a spirt, opening the third on an 8-2 run that was started by a Kucowski jumper.
 
She finished the game with a team-high 12 points, six boards and three assists on the afternoon.
 
From there, the Eagles would outscore the Leopards 32-11 in the game's final 14:33. Having only shot four free throws in the first three quarters, American got to the line 17 times in the fourth, converting 12 of those tries. It shot 67 percent from the field in the final frame to pull away.
 
Cecily Carl led the way for American with a game-high 18 points while Indeya Sanders scored 12 in the contest.
 
Eight Leopards contributed on the scoreboard with Freeland scoring eight with five rebounds, Cantwell tallying seven with six rebounds off the bench, and Martino adding five with two boards and two assists.
 
Lafayette returns to Kirby Sports Center to take on the Terriers of Boston University at 6 p.m. on Jan. 30. The contest precedes the men's game against Lehigh and is the inaugural Team Takeover night with the student-athletes going by their nicknames, picking the music, and having their Bitmojis to be featured throughout.
 
For the latest on the Lafayette College women's basketball program, follow the Leopards on Twitter @LafayetteWBB, Facebook at Lafayette Women's Basketball, and Instagram @LafayetteWBB.