Lafayette College Athletics

NEWARK, N.J. - The Lafayette women's basketball team earned its first win of the season, defeating NJIT, 62-58, on Friday night in Newark.
 
Makayla Andrews and Halee Smith both scored in double figures for the Leopards, with 20 and 12 points, respectively. Andrews and Smith each made a pair of free throws in the final 16 seconds to seal the victory. 

The Highlanders lead the Leopards 32-27 heading into halftime. Smith kept them close early, putting up 10 of her 12 points before intermission.
 
With 2:09 remaining in the third quarter, Andrews drained a jumper to put Lafayette within one. NJIT answered right away with Kendle Dalrymple draining a three for a 43-41 advantage. 
 
Smith picked up a steal at half court, and broke away for a layup before getting fouled on the try. She made the first and missed the second, bringing the Leopards within on, 43-42, with 1:16 left in the third .
 
Abby Antognoli drained a three-pointer with 34 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Leopards a 45-43 lead going into the fourth quarter, their first lead since Kayla Drummond's opening basket of the game.
 
Back-to-back threes by Andrews and Sauda Ntaconayigize gave Lafayette a six-point advantage (53-47) with 6:22 left in the game. On a pair of missed free throws Drummond pulled down an offensive rebound which led to an Andrews jumper and a 55-47 lead. Drummond hit a bucket of her own at 4:13 to keep the margin at eight (57-49).  

With a minute and a half to go, NJIT's Aria Myers buried a three, and then the Highlanders' Lyzi Litwinko came up with a steal and fast-break layup to make it a two-point game at 1:15. Myers finished with a game-high 23 points. 

NJIT missed a three with a minute left and was forced to foul. Andrews knocked down both free throws as Lafayette led 60-56 with 16 seconds left. The hosts responded with 8.9 ticks left on the clock when Myers hit two foul shots to cut Lafayette's lead to 60-58. 
  
NJIT fouled Smith on the inbound play, sending her to the foul line. The guard drained both attempts to put away the 62-58 win. The Leopards shot 75 percent from the line, making 15-of-20 on the night. 
 
Lafayette will play its home opener at noon on Sunday vs. East Tennessee State. 
 
For the latest on Lafayette College women's basketball, follow the Leopards on Twitter @LafayetteWBB and Instagram @LafayetteWBB