BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Lafayette women's basketball beat LIU 54-51 on Saturday afternoon for the Leopards' first win of the season. Senior guard Makayla Andrews and junior guard Abby Antognoli propelled the Leopards on offense. Andrews finished with 13 points, three assists and six rebounds. Her backcourt partner Antognoli scored eight points, dished five assists and grabbed two rebounds.

Andrews got the ball rolling for Lafayette with a tough and-one finish with 7:04 left in the first quarter. Junior guard Kylie Favours then found Antognoli, who nailed a three-pointer to give the Leopards a 10-7 lead with 5:13 left. Mariah Elohim and Nigeria Harkless quickly responded with two buckets for the Sharks. The score was tied at 14 before sophomore forward Emma Shields gave the Leopards a 16-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Antognoli knocked down a three-pointer to start the second quarter. After a scoreless two minutes, senior forward Kayla Drummond extended the Leopards' lead to five points with 6:59 left in the half. Lafayette held a 25-20 lead before going on a six-point run courtesy of field goals from junior guard Halee Smith, sophomore guard Kay Donahue and free throws from Andrews. Lafayette led 31-22 at halftime.

The Sharks scored two quick buckets out of halftime, but Favours stopped their run with a three-pointer at the 5:45 mark. Two more free throws from Andrews with just over four minutes to go in the third gave Lafayette a 38-31 lead. After Andrews scored a quick layup, LIU went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 40 apiece with 54 seconds to play in the period. Donahue dropped in another layup shortly thereafter to give Lafayette a 42-40 advantage at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth, Janessa Williams knocked down 18 seconds into the quarter. Harkless gave the Sharks a two-point lead, but Smith responded with her own mid-range jumper. Two scoreless minutes later, Sydni Smith and Ashley Austin provided LIU with a four-point lead. Sophomore guard Sauda Ntaconayigize responded by knocking down back-to-back triples to put Lafayette back in front with 2:34 to go. Austin responded with a three of her own, giving the advantage back to LIU 51-50. Another clutch bucket from Ntaconayigize and free throws from Andrews sealed the 54-51 victory for the Leopards.

Lafayette returns to Kirby Sports Center on Tuesday at 6 p.m. when it hosts NJIT.