LORETTO, Pa. - The Lafayette women's basketball team defeated St. Francis (Pa.) 60-58 in a nail biter inside DeGol Arena Sunday afternoon, earning its third straight victory. Junior guard Halee Smith was the leading scorer for Lafayette with a season-high 15 points.

The Leopards jumped out to an early 8-2 lead after junior guard Kylie Favours (six points) grabbed a steal and turned the break into a quick two points. With 1:42 remaining in the quarter, sophomore guard Kay Donahue (nine points) knocked down a triple to give Lafayette a 15-10 lead. The Red Flash then scored five unanswered points to tie the game at 15 apiece to end the first quarter.

After Smith knocked down a triple with 8:01 left in the half, Lafayette went on a 9-0 run courtesy of buckets from junior guard Abby Antognoli (12 points) and Smith. The Leopards led 33-22  at the intermission.

To begin the third period, points from senior guard Makayla Andrews (five points), senior forward Kayla Drummond (nine points) and Smith gave Lafayette a 39-22 lead which forced St. Francis to call timeout. Drummond then drained two free throws to give the Maroon and White its biggest lead of the game (19 points at 41-22) with 6:16 remaining in the period. Kameryn Dorsey responded with a layup which propelled the Red Flash to go on a 12-0 run. Andrews halted the opposition's run, going 1-for-2 at the line with 55 seconds to play in the period. The Leopards held a 46-39 lead with one quarter left.

St. Francis opened the final quarter with a 12-point spurt taking a 52-49 lead with six minutes remaining in the game. Antognoli halted their run with a layup, but Kendall Carruthers gave the Red Flash their biggest lead of the game 55-51 with 4:53 remaining. Donahue responded just 17 seconds later with a triple assisted by Antognoli. With 3:17 left to play, Donahue tied the game with a free throw. Three important free throws from Antognoli provided Lafayette a 60-57 lead with 2:36 left in the game.

On the final possession of the game, Lafayette defended an inbound play with 16 seconds left. The Leopards' zone defense came up big, sealing the victory by forcing a Red Flash shot clock violation.

Lafayette shot 45.5 percent from downtown and it was 13-of-19 from the foul line compared to St Francis' 5-of-7. Both proved to be key factors in the team's second road win and third straight victory overall.

The Leopards are back in action at 7 p.m. on Wednesday as they travel to Baltimore, Md. to face UMBC.