OLD FRIENDS
    Coquese Washington and Kia Damon-Olson meet today for the third time as opposing head coaches, but their history together dates further. Washington was the head coach at Penn State from 2007-2019 and Damon-Olson was an assistant coach on her staff from 2007-2016.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
    The Scarlet Knights have started the 2025-26 season with a 7-4 record and collected their second-straight loss (81-63) last time out at Princeton (Dec. 10). Rutgers posted a 10-5 record in non-conference play last season and a 3-15 mark in the Big 10. 
    Saturday marks the fourth meeting between the Leopards and Scarlet Knights in their respective histories. Lafayette has faced Rutgers twice since head coach Kia Damon-Olson has been at the helm. In last year's matchup, the Leopards fell in a nail biter, 72-65.
    Looking at the hosts' 11-game sample size, Nene Ndiaye and Kaylah Ivey were the leaders on offense in their meeting with Princeton. Nidaye finished the outing with 20 points, four rebounds and two assists on 8-14 shooting from the floor and 2-3 from deep in 37 minutes. Ivey logged 37 minutes for the Scarlet Knights, scoring 15 points on 5-12 shooting and dishing out four assists. Imani Lester and Faith Blackstone contributed valuable minutes against the Scarlet Knights as well. Lester dropped in 14 points and had two rejections, while Blackstone tallied eight points, four rebounds and two steals. 
    As a team, Rutgers shot a 49.0 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc and 88.9 percent from the charity stripe against the Tigers. The Scarlet Knights rank last (18th) in the Big 10 in scoring offense (61.1 ppg) and seventh in defensive rating, only allowing their opponents to score 59.5 points per outing.

LAST TIME OUT
    All five of Lafayette's starters finished in double figures against Marist on Dec. 10, but the Red Foxes escaped with a narrow 79-76 victory in overtime. Junior guard and former back-to-back Patriot League Player of the Week, Teresa Kiewiet, continued her dominant play, finishing with a team and season-high 25 points.

SHOOTERS SHOOT
    Leopard guards Sauda Ntaconayigize, Rosie Scognamiglio and Haylie Adamski are all shooting 38 percent or better from downtown this season. Ntaconayigize leads the pack, shooting at a conference-leading 44.9 percent clip and Scognamiglio is right behind her with 40.0 percent. Adamski has made 38.3 percent of her attempts this season and was named a Patriot League Honorable Mention on Dec. 1 for the fourth time this season. 

UP NEXT
    The Leopards now face an 11-day break before their next game. Lafayette opens Patriot League play at 2 p.m. on Dec. 31 in Hamilton, N.Y. vs. Colgate.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
    Junior guard Teresa Kiewiet was named the Patriot League Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks (Dec. 1 & Dec. 8) for her performances at Pitt (11/25), NJIT (11/30), FDU (12/4) and Marist (12/7). The Engineering major averaged 22.8 ppg across four games and dropped in a season-high of 25 points and five triples for 55.6 percent shooting from deep. 

STARTING FIVE
    Lafayette used the same starting lineup for 17 of its 31 contests last season: guards Abby Antognoli, Teresa Kiewiet and Sauda Ntaconayigize, forwards Halee Smith and Tasha Chudy. This season, Talia Zurinskas, Kiewiet, Ntaconayigize, Haylie Adamski and Chudy have earned the largest amount of starts. 

CONFERENCE RANKINGS
    The Leopards currently sit fourth in scoring offense (64.9 ppg) and seventh in team defense, allowing their opponents to average 66.1 ppg. Head coach Kia Damon-Olson's group is leading the league in three-point percentage (37.9) and ranks third in free-throw shooting (76.3 percent). 

ONE TO WATCH
    Kiewiet is a Leopard opposing team's scouting reports will hone in on to begin the season. The North Mankato, Minn. native quietly averaged 9.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, while shooting 44.2 percent from the floor and 41.9 percent from beyond the arc last campaign. With the graduation of Abby Antognoli '25, Kiewiet will be relied on greatly to generate offense for the Maroon and White. 

PLAY4KAY CAMPAIGN
    Lafayette women's basketball recently partnered with the Kay Yow Foundation for a season-long three-point challenge. This season, Leopard fans can pledge how much they'd like to donate for every three-pointer made by the team or their favorite player and all proceeds will directly benefit the Kay Yow Fund. To learn more visit tinyurl.com/25sqlzmv. 

EXCELLENCE IN ACADEMICS
    Lafayette's athletic programs stood out among the nation's best this fall in the NCAA's Division I annual Graduation Success Rate (GSR) release. College Hill claimed a 97 percent GSR overall for the third straight year based on the 19 sports measured while 16 Leopard teams, including women's basketball, achieved a graduation success rate of 100 percent.

PATRIOT LEAGUE AWARDS
    Guard Talia Zurinskas received all-league recognition in 2024-25.  The Allentown, Pa. native claimed a spot on the conference's all-rookie team, posting averages of 4.4 ppg and 1.0 apg in 30 games played for the Leopards. The Psychology major shot 38.6 percent from the field, 32.4 percent from deep and 77.3 percent at the line in her first season on College Hill. 

2024-25 RECAP
    The 2024-25 season highlighted various notable achievements. Lafayette posted its best season to date in three-point field goals made, draining 190 attempts in 31 games. It also marked the second-highest season threes attempted (559) and the fifth best team three-point field-goal percentage (34.0 percent).