WASHINGTON, D.C. – Seniors
Makayla Andrews, (12 points)
Kayla Drummond (12 points) and sophomore guard
Kay Donahue (10 points) led Lafayette's offense in its seventh victory of the season, beating American, 60-55 on Wednesday night at Bender Arena.
Lauren Stack, Emily Johns, Ivy Bales and Anna LeMaster all dropped in double digit points for the Eagles. American captured its largest lead of the game (11-5) with 5:28 remaining in the first quarter after Laura Nogues scored a fast-break layup. Junior guard
Abby Antognoli (eight points) cut the Eagles' lead to two
points (15-13) with a triple with 1:38 to go. After 10 minutes, the Leopards trailed by two
points.
The opening minutes of the second quarter were back-and-forth, but a three-pointer from sophomore guard
Sauda Ntaconayigize gave Lafayette an eight-point advantage with 4:07 left in the half. LeMaster closed the gap with a triple of her own, but the Maroon and White led at the intermission, 29-25.
Bales knocked down a triple to begin the third quarter for the Eagles. Sophomore forward
Emma Shields (four points) hit a big layup with 2:44 left in the quarter that kept American at bay. The Eagles cut their deficit to a single
point, but Drummond's back-to-back buckets helped propel the Leopards to a 45-38 lead with 10 minutes to go.
Donahue handed Lafayette its largest lead of the game (47-38) after knocking down a mid-range jumper. Junior forward
Halee Smith (nine points) hit a clutch three-pointer with 6:14 left in the contest to give Lafayette some breathing room. The Leopards held an eight-point lead prior to American going on a 7-0 run. A big bucket from Andrews with 29 seconds remaining and free throws from Donahue with just five seconds left secured the win for Lafayette in crunch time. This win snaps Lafayette's seven-game losing streak.
Shooting determined Wednesday's matchup. The Leopards shot 41.7 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from downtown compared to American's 34.4 and 15.0 percent.
Lafayette returns to Kirby Sports Center at 2 p.m. on Saturday for its second matchup against the Army Black Knights.
