EASTON, Pa. – Sophomore guard Teresa Kiewiet put on a show in the Leopards' 72-55 victory on Wednesday evening against American. The North Mankato, Minn. native dropped in a career-high 27 points and tacked on four rebounds, one assist and a career-best three steals.

Lafayette found a 7-1 lead to get things going courtesy of a triple by senior guard Abby Antognoli. Kiewiet made it a double-digit lead (12-1) for the Leopards, after fellow classmate Tasha Chudy found her on the perimeter for a three-pointer with 5:12 left in the first. Lafayette concluded the stanza with an 11-9 run, taking a 23-10 lead after the first quarter.

Antognoli continued to push the pace for Lafayette with a smooth layup to begin the second period. The Leopards led by as many as 15 points (25-10), prior to a 7-2 run by the Eagles, which cut their deficit to 10 points. The Maroon and White got back to work, responding with a 7-0 spurt. Lafayette took its largest lead of the first half (34-17) at the 2:21 mark thanks to a driving layup by freshman guard Talia Zurinskas. After 20 minutes of play, the Leopards led 36-24.

The opening five minutes of the second half were back and forth, but a Kiewiet jumper handed Lafayette a 14-point lead (46-32) with 5:13 to go in the quarter. American posted five points in under a minute to cut the Leopards' lead to single digits (46-37), but Lafayette kept its foot on the gas. A pair of Kiewiet free throws and triples by seniors Halee Smith and Antognoli guided the Maroon and White to a healthy 15-point lead (54-39) to close the quarter.

The Leopards outscored the visitors 18-16 in the final stanza, to capture their second-straight victory at the buzzer. Lafayette led by as many as 18 points in the quarter and it maintained a double-digit advantage for the majority of the period.

Wednesday's victory marked Lafayette's second-best shooting performance of the season from the floor, shooting at a 45.5 percent clip. Foul shooting and rebounding were the keys to the contest. The Maroon and White went 16-for-18 from the charity stripe and grabbed 36 boards, while American made 7-of-11 free throw attempts and only snatched 29 rebounds.

The Maroon and White are back in action at 2 p.m. on Saturday as they make the trip to Lewisburg, Pa. to face Bucknell.
 

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