EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette College women's basketball team defeated Loyola Maryland, 58-49, in the first round of the Patriot League Championship Tournament on Saturday afternoon to advance to the tournament quarterfinals.
 
The Leopards advance to the Patriot League Championship Tournament Quarterfinals for the first time since the 2018-19 season and will play at American on Monday night.
 
Lafayette was led by freshman Abby Antognoli who recorded a career-high 22 points. Fellow rookie Claire Gallagher was the other Leopard to total double figures with 12. Senior Naomi Ganpo led the team in rebounds with nine.
 
Ganpo scored first to give Lafayette a 2-0 lead with 5:57 on the clock in the first quarter. Loyola tied up the game seconds later with a jumper and then followed up its jumper with another two point to take a 4-2 lead.
 
Gallagher drained a shot from beyond the arc to give Lafayette a 5-4 lead. Ganpo than put in a layup to put Lafayette ahead by three.
 
The Greyhounds went on a 5-0 run to take a 9-7 lead before it was junior Jessica Booth who put in a layup to tie up the game 9-9. The two squads traded buckets again to send the game into the second quarter with the score tied 11-11.
 
Loyola put in a three-point basket to give themselves a three point lead to start off the second quarter and then followed up that bucket with a jumper to put themselves ahead by five. Antognoli drained a jumper to pull Lafayette back within three, 16-13, and then put in another jumper to pull Lafayette within one, 16-15.
 
The Greyhounds then put in six points to take a 22-15 lead with 4:09 left in the half. The Leopards responded with back-to-back buckets by sophomore Makayla Andrews and Antognoli to pull Lafayette within two, 22-20.
 
The game headed into halftime with Loyola leading 25-24.
 
Antognoli started off the third quarter with a three-point bucket to pull Lafayette ahead by two points, 27-25. She then followed up her bucket with another to push Lafayette ahead by four.
 
The Leopards continued to dominate the third quarter, outscoring Loyola 22-14 to take a 46-39 lead heading into the fourth.
 
Ganpo started off the session with a jumper to put Lafayette ahead by nine, 48-39. The Greyhounds responded right away with a shot from beyond the arc to put the score at 48-42. Antongoli had her own answer, a three-pointer to put Lafayette ahead 53-42.
 
The Greyhounds attempted a comeback with just under three minutes left in the game, netting a jumper to pull within seven, but the Leopards outscored Loyola down the stretch and held on for the 58-49 final.
 
The Greyhounds were led by Bri Rozzi who had a team-high 16 points.
 
With the win, the Leopards advance to the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals on Monday, March 7. They are set for a 7 p.m. matchup with No. 2 American in Washington, D.C.