RICHMOND, Va. - The Lafayette women's basketball team opened the season with a 65-42 loss at VCU on Monday afternoon. 

Junior forward Kayla Drummond had a strong season-opening performance, leading the Leopards with 10 points and five rebounds against the 2022 WNIT runner up. All four Lafayette newcomers saw the court in the contest. Freshman forward Emma Shields and sophomore guard Halee Smith made their first career starts for the Maroon and White, while freshmen Sauda Ntaconayigize and Kay Donahue scored their first career points.

 The Leopards hung with the Rams in the first quarter, going into the break with a score of 19-13. Drummond had three buckets while Booth chipped in a pair of scores in the opening quarter to go along with a three by Ntaconayigize.
 
VCU built upon its lead in the second quarter, opening with a 10-0 run to start the session, outscoring Lafayette 14-8 in the second quarter to take a 33-21 lead into halftime. 

In the third quarter, the Leopards fell victim to cold shooting, missing all 11 attempts from the floor. Booth's free throws with 1:01 left in the third provided the Leopards' lone points of the quarter as the hosts outscored Lafayette 18-2. 

For the game, VCU was led by Chloe Bloom (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Mary-Anna Asare (11 pts) in double figures with 28 of the Rams' points coming in the paint.
 
The Leopards continue their non-conference action on the road on Friday at 7 p.m. at NJIT
 
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