ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Lafayette women's basketball dropped its conference bout 62-46 against Navy on Wednesday at Alumni Hall. Sophomore guard Talia Zurinskas tallied a team-high 12 points against the Mids and junior Teresa Kiewiet finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds to claim the fourth double-double of her career.

Buckets from Zoe Mesuch and Julianna Almeida handed the hosts an early 5-2 advantage, but an and-one from Maddison Krug and a layup by Zurinskas put the Leopards out in front 7-5 at the 6:13 mark. Navy responded with a 5-0 run, but a mid-range jumper from Kiewiet kept Lafayette close (10-9). The quarter ended with a 9-2 run, giving the Mids a 19-11 lead after the first.

Navy's defense was the highlight of the second period. The hosts held the Maroon and White to just two points, while scoring 15. The Patriot League's leading scorer, Zanai Barnett-Gay, did the heavy lifting on offense for Navy, accounting for nine of its second-quarter points. At the intermission, the Mids held a 34-13 lead.

The hosts began to pull away in the third quarter. The stanza began with back-to-back baskets from Krug and Kiewiet, but then Navy got red hot. A 16-1 run propelled the Mids to a 50-18 advantage that was eventually halted by a jumper from Zurinskas with 4:18 remaining. Tim Taylor's squad led by as many as 33 points in the frame and with 10 minutes to go in Alumni Hall they led 56-27.

Lafayette outpaced Navy in the fourth quarter, netting 19 points to the hosts' six. Zurinskas and freshman guard Haylie Adamski both notched six points in the period and as a group, the Leopards held the Mids to 1-of-13 shooting. Navy's hefty lead proved to be too much to overcome and it advanced to 10-1 in Patriot League play at the final horn.

Rebounding and finding your teammates told the story of Wednesday's contest. The hosts grabbed nine more boards than the Maroon and White (52-43) and they doubled their assist total (14-7).

The Leopards return to Kirby Sports Center at 2 p.m. on Saturday for the first meeting of the season with Army. The matchup also marks Lafayette's annual Play4Kay game.
 

To keep up with the Lafayette women's basketball program, follow its social media pages.

X/@LafayetteWBB | Instagram/@lafayette_wbb | Facebook/GoLeopards