VILLANOVA, Pa. – Lafayette women's basketball opened its 2025-26 slate at Villanova on Tuesday night, resulting in a 70-38 victory for the hosts.

Denae Carter and Kennedy Henry guided the Wildcats to an early 5-0 lead, but junior guard Teresa Kiewiet scored the Leopards' first bucket of the year at the 6:59 mark. The hosts then went on a 9-0 run, which was eventually halted by a Tasha Chudy layup (14-4). After 10 minutes in Finneran Pavilion, the hosts held a 22-7 lead.

The Leopards were outscored 14-7 in the second stanza. Two free throws by senior Sauda Ntaconayigize brought the Maroon and White within 15 points (24-9), but the hosts had an answer for each Lafayette bucket. The visitors were trailing 29-9 with 7:35 to go when they posted a 5-2 spurt, thanks to baskets by Ntaconayigize (3) and Chudy (2). At the intermission, the Maroon and White trailed 36-14.

Lafayette came out of the gate with the hot hand to start the second half. Kiewiet knocked down a turnaround jumper to get things going and Ntaconayigize drained a triple on the next trip down the floor. The Quebec, Canada native led the Patriot League in three-point percentage last season (42.0 percent) and tonight she went 3-7 from deep and 6-6 from the charity stripe. Villanova closed out the quarter with a 14-5 run and led 50-24 after three periods of play.

The Maroon and White put together their best offensive quarter in the fourth, tallying 14 points and they out-rebounded the Wildcats 10-7. Kiewiet and Ntaconayigize each netted five points, while freshmen Haley Poser and Emma Heaney tacked on two points apiece.

The keys to Monday's matchup were rebounding and turnovers. Villanova won the battle on the glass 44-34 and it committed nine fewer turnovers than the visitors (22-13).
 

To keep up with the Lafayette women's basketball team, follow its social media pages.

X/@LafayetteWBB | Instagram/@lafayette_wbb | Facebook/GoLeopards