EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette women's basketball continued the 2026-27 season with a 64-60 loss to the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) on Wednesday evening at Kirby Sports Center.
Lafayette's top performance came through freshman forward
Johari Hall, who posted 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Tasha Chudy and
Reneyia Pickering also finished in double figures with 11 points each. Chudy, a Saratoga Springs, N.Y. native, dished a team-high seven assists.
The Leopards used a combined eight points from Pickering and Adamski to push out to a 17-11 lead in the first quarter. Lafayette shot 8-for-14 from the floor in that time.
Despite NJIT's 20-19 effort in the second period, the hosts kept a 36-31 advantage at the break. The Highlanders got their first lead at 5:45, 20-19, but were quickly stopped by a Chudy dart beyond the arc. Chudy, who recorded a buzzer-beating jumper, and
Emma Heaney each added five points in the spurt while the squad hit all three 3-point attempts by halftime.
NJIT maintained possession for most of the third quarter, taking the lead at the six-minute mark with a 9-1 run to go up by three, 40-37. The opponents took an 11-6 stretch to end the period up 51-43; Piper Engelby led the charge with six points.
Lafayette broke out of the fourth period with a fire, taking a 7-0 run that concluded with an Adamski 3-pointer (7:44), closing the deficit to one point, 51-50.
The Highlanders secured the outcome using a jumper by Ava Locklear with 26 seconds left on the clock, leaving the Leopards one final possession. Pickering inbounded the ball to Chudy, who sank a bucket from long range, trailing 62-60 at 0:12. Locklear claimed the last points of the contest at the foul line (2).
Locklear led the opponents with 16 points, shooting 6-of-11 from the field adding 4-for-4 at the charity stripe. The Highlanders rallied late to finish with 41.5 percent shooting from the floor.
The Maroon and White were held to a 33 percent mark on the floor and netted five 3-pointers. Overall, the Leopards secured 13-of-16 free throws and out-rebounded NJIT 38-29, including an 13-7 margin on the offensive glass.
Next up, Lafayette travels to Marist, kicking off a four-game road trip, on Sunday at 2 p.m.
For the latest on the Lafayette College women's basketball program, follow the Leopards on X
@LafayetteWBB and Instagram
@lafayettewbb.
