QUEENS, N.Y. - Lafayette women's basketball opened the 2026-27 season with a 95-37 loss to the Big East's St. John's on Monday afternoon in Carnesecca Arena.
Lafayette's top performance came through freshman
Reneyia Pickering, who tallied a team-high nine points and went four-for-six at the charity stripe. The Leopards kept to 25 percent from the floor overall and secured 12 bench points.
In the contests, the hosts earned an 18-9 lead through the first quarter, using eight points on 6-of-7 from the line by Daniela Abies.
Johari Hall paced the Leopards with three points.
With an 8-4 run, St. John's extended its lead to 13 by the six-minute mark of the second quarter, 26-13. Pickering drained a 3-pointer at 5:19 to halt the offensive barrage.
The Red Storm resumed play with a 10-2 spurt off back-to-back beyond the arc shots for a 35-18 advantage with three minutes left in the half.
The hosts shot 45 percent from 3-point range on 27 attempts by the break, leading 40-18.
Lafayette found its footing to get to a 43-23 deficit with a 3-pointer by
Emma Heaney and a steal-to-layup by Hailey Adamski to kick off the third period. St. John's 14-2 run over the following three minutes left the hosts out of reach, 56-25, at 5:08.
The Red Storm held a 70-30 advantage at the end of the third quarter after shooting 64 percent from the floor and 9-for-10 at the foul line.
Offensively, Lafayette was limited to free throws in the final period, trailing 85-32 at the midway mark. Five Leopards contributed at the line in Hall, Pickering,
Carley Voce,
Maddison Krug and
Jordyn Mays.
St. John's claimed the eventual 95-37 outcome using 11-for-17 from the floor in the fourth quarter.
St. John's shot over 52 percent from the floor and beyond the arc in total, in addition to going 21-for-29 from the line. Five players scored in double figures for the Red Storm, paced by Ny'Ceara Pryor's 19 points, four assists and two rebounds.
The opponents out-rebounded the Leopards 37-21, including a 14-5 margin on the offensive glass. Lafayette senior
Tasha Chudy grabbed a team-high five rebounds and dished a team-high two assists.
Next up, the Leopards host Wagner in Kirby Sports Center on Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
For the latest on the Lafayette College women's basketball program, follow the Leopards on X
@LafayetteWBB and Instagram
@lafayettewbb.
