NEWARK, N.J. – After facing back-to-back nationally-ranked opponents (No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 13 West Virginia) Lafayette traveled to NJIT and battled the hosts to a 71-69 nail-biting victory.
The Leopards grabbed an early 11-5 lead after junior guard
Kay Donahue knocked down a second-chance three pointer. The Belle Mead, N.J. native matched her career high of 18 points, while dishing out two assists and grabbing six boards, a steal and two rejections. The Highlanders responded with a 7-0 run, taking a 12-11 lead with 2:45 to go in the first quarter. Both teams were neck-and-neck down the stretch, but the Maroon and White held a one-point lead after 10 minutes (16-15).
Senior guard
Abby Antognoli led all scorers in the second period (7) and shot 3-5 from the field. NJIT took its largest lead of the game (4) at the 7:48 mark, after Olivia O'Meally buried a triple following a Leopard turnover. The score was tied at 28 apiece before Lafayette finished the half with a 4-2 run, granting it a 32-30 advantage at the break.
The game continued to be evenly matched in the second half, as both teams scored 17 points in the third period. Donahue gave the Leopards their largest lead of the quarter (4) on a fast-break layup just under two minutes into the quarter. Donahue, Antognoli and junior forward
Emma Shields all notched four points in the quarter and as a team, Lafayette didn't commit a single turnover. With one quarter left in Newark, the Maroon and White led 49-47.
Sophomore forward
Tasha Chudy finished a layup with 6:09 remaining, granting Lafayette its largest lead of the game, 60-53. NJIT fought back with a 9-4 spurt, but Antognoli hit a clutch shot from beyond the arc (0:57) to keep the hosts at bay. Alejandra Zuniga made it a three-point game (69-66) with 23 seconds to go, but Lafayette held on in crunch time to grab its second victory of the season.
Shields had a big outing for the Leopards, recording a career-high 11 rebounds while matching her career-high of 12 points on 5-8 shooting.
The keys to Tuesday's matchup were rebounding and foul shooting. Lafayette grabbed six-more boards (47-41) than NJIT and it converted 10-18 free throws compared to zero attempts for NJIT.
The Leopards return to the court at 2 p.m. on Sunday as they travel to West Long Branch, N.J. for more non-conference action against Monmouth.
To keep up with the Lafayette women's basketball team, follow its social media pages.
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