BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lafayette women's basketball fell short in a 62-48 final against Lehigh on Saturday at Stabler Arena. Guards Teresa Kiewiet (17) and Sauda Ntaconayigize (11) were the Leopards' leaders on offense, combining for 28 points.

Whitney Lind handed Lehigh an initial 5-2 lead after the forward made both of her attempts at the charity stripe. Lafayette was fast to respond, recording a 7-0 run courtesy of buckets by freshmen Maddison Krug, Haylie Adamski and Kiewiet. The hosts tied the game at nine apiece (5:12), but Adamski, Kiewiet and freshman point guard Haley Poser all found the bottom of the net to grant the Maroon and White a 20-16 lead after the first quarter.

The Mountain Hawks were rolling in the second period and they started the frame with an 11-0 spurt. At the 5:23 mark, Ntaconayigize hit a big three-pointer that halted the run and brought the Leopards within two (30-28). The following three minutes of play were scoreless until Lily Fandre got a layup to go with 2:36 remaining. After 20 minutes in Bethlehem, the hosts maintained a narrow 34-29 lead.

Lafayette was first to strike coming out of halftime when Kiewiet dialed up a three-pointer off an assist by sophomore Talia Zurinskas. The hosts quickly reasserted themselves with a 7-0 run, but three converted foul shots by Ntaconayigize kept the Maroon and White close (41-35). Lehigh took its largest lead of the game (52-37) with 2:49 to go and held an 11-point advantage heading into the final stanza.

The fourth quarter only produced a total of 17 points and when the final horn sounded Lehigh advanced to 10-8, while Lafayette dropped to 7-12.

Saturday's matchup was won in the paint and on the glass. The Mountain Hawks tallied 24 paint points compared to the Leopards' 16. The hosts also won the battle on the boards (37-31).

The Maroon and White retake the court at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Kirby Sports Center as Bucknell makes the trip to Easton. The Leopards' matchup with the Bison is the first game of a doubleheader with men's basketball (7 p.m. tip-off).

 
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