SCOUTING HOLY CROSS
    The Crusaders wrapped up non-conference play with a 6-5 mark and tallied a 49-40 win in their last contest against Loyola Md. (Feb. 14). Holy Cross centers its second matchup with Lafayette holding a 16-9 record and has already clinched a first-round bye in the Patriot League Tournament thanks to a 10-4 standing.
    Wednesday night will be the 83rd time that Lafayette and Holy Cross have faced off. During her tenure on College Hill, head coach Kia Damon-Olson owns a 2-14 mark against the Crusaders. Holy Cross last welcomed the Maroon and White to Worcester on Jan. 17, walking away with a 70-48 victory. 
    In the contest, Kendall Eddy was the driving force behind the Crusader offense. The junior guard led all scorers with 15 points, making all three of her three-point attempts while securing three rebounds and three steals. Seniors Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly and Simone Foreman followed Eddy's lead, adding in 12 and 11 points, respectively. Donnelly added in a pair of triples in addition to four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Foreman also pulled down six boards. Meg Cahalan shot 4-8 from the field while collecting four rebounds. Kaitlyn Flanagan turned in an eight-point outing, buoyed by four boards and a team-high six assists. She enters the contest with 994 points, needing just six more to reach 1,000 career points.
    As a unit, the Crusaders average 60.2 points, shooting 40.6 percent from the floor, 25.6 percent from beyond the arc and 71.9 percent from the charity stripe this season.

LAST TIME OUT
    Lafayette women's basketball hosted rival Lehigh on Feb. 14 at Kirby Sports Center, securing a 73-59 win. Sophomore point guard Talia Zurinskas paced the Maroon and White with 19 points, while Teresa Kiewiet (17) and Haylie Adamski (14) also finished with double-digit points. Freshman Maddison Krug added in nine points, eight rebounds and two steals.  

TRIPLE THREAT
    Leopard guards Haylie Adamski, Teresa Kiewiet and Sauda Ntaconayigize are all shooting 36 percent or better from downtown this season.  Ntaconayigize leads the pack, shooting 41.5 percent clip from beyond the arc. Adamski is close behind her, trailing with 39.5 percent (5th in PL).  Kiewiet is draining the deep ball at a 36.4 percent clip, which ranks ninth in the conference.

SCORING SAVANT
    Junior guard Teresa Kiewiet is tied for second in the Patriot League in scoring, averaging 15.9 ppg. The North Mankato, Minn. native also ranks highly in rebounding (10th), field-goal percentage (fourth) and three-point percentage (ninth). Kiewiet averages 33.2 minutes per game, ranking eighth amongst her conference foes.

UP NEXT
    The Leopards hit the road to Washington, D.C. for a 12 p.m. Saturday matchup with American. Live coverage can be viewed on ESPN+. 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
    Junior guard Teresa Kiewiet was named the Patriot League Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks (Dec. 1 & Dec. 8) for her performances at Pitt (11/25), NJIT (11/30), FDU (12/4) and Marist (12/7). The Engineering major averaged 22.8 ppg across four games and dropped in a season-high of 25 points and five triples for 55.6 percent shooting from deep. 

STARTING FIVE
    Lafayette has used 10 different starting lineups this season: guards Talia Zurinskas, Teresa Kiewiet, Sauda Ntaconayigize and Haylie Adamski and forward Maddison Krug have started the most games (8) together this campaign. Krug has seen an increased role due to a recent Chudy injury and the North Kingstown, R.I. native will now be relied on heavily as conference play continues. Against Lehigh (2/14), Ntaconayigize returned to the starting lineup, while Chudy played limited minutes.

SENIOR SNIPER
    Senior guard Sauda Ntaconayigize ranks third in the PL in three-point percentage (41.5 percent) and averages 10.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg and 1.5 apg in her final season. If her career ended today, the Quebec, Canada native would leave as Lafayette's all-time leader in three-point percentage (39.6 percent). The Psychology major has scored 683 points so far and 423 of them have come from deep.

CONFERENCE RANKINGS
    Lafayette sits at fifth in scoring offense (60.1 ppg) and eighth in team defense, allowing opponents to average 64.5 ppg. Head coach Kia Damon-Olson's group is leading the league in three-point percentage (35.1) and ranks second in free-throw percentage (76.3).

PLAY4KAY CAMPAIGN
    Lafayette women's basketball recently partnered with the Kay Yow Foundation for a season-long three-point challenge. This season, Leopard fans can pledge how much they'd like to donate for every three-pointer made by the team or their favorite player and all proceeds will directly benefit the Kay Yow Fund. To learn more visit tinyurl.com/25sqlzmv. 

EXCELLENCE IN ACADEMICS
    Lafayette's athletic programs stood out among the nation's best this fall in the NCAA's Division I annual Graduation Success Rate (GSR) release. College Hill claimed a 97 percent GSR overall for the third straight year based on the 19 sports measured while 16 Leopard teams, including women's basketball, achieved a graduation success rate of 100 percent.