EASTON, Pa. – Sophomore guard Teresa Kiewiet netted a game-high 26 points on Saturday at Kirby Sports Center, but the Leopards fell short in the end, 75-61 to Lehigh. Lehigh had four players finish in double figures and senior Ella Stemmer led the visitors in scoring with 21 points.

The Mountain Hawks were first to put points on the board and Meghan O'Brien handed the visitors a 7-3 lead with a turnaround jumper at the 6:28 mark. Lafayette responded with a 7-0 spurt, tying the game at 10 apiece thanks to a triple by freshman guard Talia Zurinskas. Lehigh outscored the hosts 11-4 in the final four minutes of the quarter, but a last second triple by sophomore Rosie Scognamiglio cut the deficit to four points (21-17) after 10 minutes.

Lehigh dominated the second period, outscoring the Leopards 24-9. Graduate student Maddie Albrecht led the charge with nine points in the stanza for Lehigh, while making all six of her free-throw attempts in the period. The visitors' 54.5 percent field-goal percentage handed them a 45-26 advantage at the intermission.

Stemmer extended Lehigh's lead (22 points) to begin the second half, but back-to-back buckets by Kiewiet (2) and junior guard Sauda Ntaconayigize (3) gave Lafayette some bounce. The Leopards trailed 50-33 with 4:03 to go before a Kiewiet three-pointer brought Lafayette within 13 points (50-37). The Mountain Hawks dictated the final three minutes of the quarter and led 56-39 after 30 minutes.

The visitors maintained a double-digit lead throughout the final stanza and advanced to 23-4 on the year at the final buzzer. Rebounding and free throws were the determining factors in Saturday's matinee. Lehigh grabbed 10 more boards (34-24) than the Leopards, while making all 12 of its free-throw attempts. Lafayette shot 83.3 percent (5-6) from the charity stripe, but got there half as many times as the visitors.

The Maroon and White return to the court at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, as they pay a visit up north to Army.
 

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