SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Lafayette women's basketball opened the season with a tough task, traveling to Atlantic Coast Conference foe Syracuse on Tuesday night in a 75-41 final.
 
The Leopards battled with the Orange early, as sophomore Sauda Ntaconayigize (7 points) drilled a three-pointer off a Kayla Drummond assist at 5:39 in the first quarter for a 7-3 lead. A minute later, Drummond's layup off a Makayla Andrews feed kept the Leopards with a 9-5 advantage. Syracuse then outscored Lafayette 15-5 in the remainder of the first quarter to lead 20-14.  
 
The hosts created some breathing room in the second quarter, shooting 50 percent from the floor while limiting Lafayette to 19 percent and stretching the margin to 40-21 at intermission.

Syracuse's Dyaisha Fair had 10 points in the first half while teammate Alyssa Latham added nine.
 
Coming out of the locker room, Syracuse stayed in control, shooting 62 percent from the field in the third quarter and extending the home advantage to 66-30 by the end of the third.
 
In the fourth quarter, Donahue scored five of her team-high nine points to push the Leopards to outscore the Orange 11-9 in the final session.
 
Syracuse handled Lafayette 58-27 on the glass, with Andrews (7) and Abby Antognoli (6) combining for 13 boards. Fair (11) and Latham (10) were two of three players to reach double figures in rebounds for the Orange who grabbed 25 offensive rebounds.
 
Lafayette returns to action on Saturday, traveling to East Tennessee State for a noon tip.