BALTIMORE, Md. – Lafayette women's basketball took on Loyola Md. on Wednesday at Reitz Arena, falling short 65-58 at the final horn. Sophomore point guard Talia Zurinskas paced the Leopards with 15 points, while Teresa Kiewiet (14) and Maddison Krug (10) also finished with double-digit points.

The Greyhounds jumped out to an early 5-3 lead, thanks to scores from Koi Sims and Sydney Bass. Krug responded seconds later with a layup that started a 6-0 Leopards' run and with 4:36 to go Lafayette led 9-5. Amandine Amorich knotted the game at 10 points apiece at the 2:48 mark, which jumpstarted an 8-5 Loyola run to close out the period.

Lafayette outscored Loyola 14-10 in the second quarter and it began with a Haylie Adamski driving layup. Bass restored a five-point lead (22-17) for the hosts with a triple, but then the Maroon and White found some offensive rhythm. Zurinskas got the offense going with a jumper after a Loyola shot clock violation and then gave Lafayette a 23-22 lead, after converting a layup and a pair of free throws. Both squads tacked on six more points down the stretch and the Leopards held a narrow 29-28 lead at the half.

The hosts exploded for 21 points in the third stanza, led by six points from Bass. Loyola began the second half with a 10-5 spurt (38-34), courtesy of buckets by Kimmie Hicks, Lex Therien, Olivia Shaughnessy and Bass. Lafayette then flipped the script and recorded a 5-0 run of its own to take a 39-38 lead with 4:36 to go. Freshmen Emma Heaney and Krug found the bottom of the net to keep the Maroon and White within striking distance, but a late surge from the Greyhounds handed them a five-point advantage (49-44) with 10 minutes remaining at Reitz Arena.

Therien went a perfect 3-for-3 in the final quarter to lead the hosts past Lafayette. Loyola led by as many as 12 points (62-50) in the period, but free throws from Keiwiet and a layup from Heaney quickly made it an eight-point deficit. Danielle O'Banion's group limited quality looks at the bucket for the Leopards in crunch time, escaping with a 65-58 victory.

Points off the bench and rebounding were the keys to Wednesday's matchup. The hosts scored 11 more bench points than the Maroon and White, while winning the battle on the glass 42-31.

Lafayette returns to Kirby Sports Center at 2 p.m. on Saturday for its second meeting of the season with archrival Lehigh. The matchup will also serve as the Leopards' Senior Day.

 
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