WEST POINT, N.Y. - Lafayette battled 24-win Army on Monday night, taking the Black Knights to the final minutes of the game before dropping a 65-57 final. Four members of the Maroon and White finished with double-digit points.
Junior Teresa Kiewiet ended with 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Tasha Chudy (13), Talia Zurinskas (13) and Sauda Ntaconayigize (11) followed Kiewiet's lead in scoring.
The Leopards gained an early 10-8 advantage in the first quarter, featuring buckets from Chudy (4), Kiewiet (4) and Zurinskas (2). Army responded by quickly tallying the contest's next six points. Back-to-back layups from Rosie Scognamiglio and Kiewiet knotted the score at 14 with two minutes remaining in the period. Reganne Reardon countered, converting an and-one opportunity to exchange the lead once again (17-14). After a Zurinskas layup, Soleil Montrose sank a layup of her own for a 19-16 Army advantage after the first.
The second stanza belonged to the Leopards, as Lafayette outscored its opponent 17-13. Ntaconayigize and Chudy collected six points in the quarter to pace the offense. Momentum shifted down the stretch, with Zurinskas leading the charge. With 1:07 left in the quarter, she converted all three of her attempts at the line (31-30). Army's Camryn Tade converted a jump shot to briefly retake a 32-31 advantage. On the Leopards' next offensive possession, Scognamiglio connected with a wide open Chudy under the basket. Chudy's layup found the bottom of the net for the 33-32 lead at halftime. The Black Knights shot 37.5 percent (12-32) in the first half while the Leopards converted 48 percent of their shots.
Army's defense, who entered the contest allowing opponents a conference-low 54.7 ppg, impacted the third quarter. The hosts' held the Leopards to 1-9 shooting, forcing six turnovers in the process. Army controlled the glass in the stanza, outrebounding Lafayette 13-8. Kya Smith paced the Black Knights with seven points and pulled down 11 boards. After quarter three came to a close, Army led, 46-39.
The Leopards battled back during the opening minutes of the fourth. Down seven, Kiewiet finished four-straight attempts at the charity stripe to pull within three (46-43). At 7:35, Ntaconayigize drilled a triple to tie the game at 46 apiece. The two teams traded scores over the next five possesions before Kiewiet sank a layup in the paint with 4:29 to play (52-51). The Black Knights' defense wrapped up the contest, limiting Lafayette to 1-8 shooting in the last four minutes before taking the 65-57 final.
Smith led Army offensively with a 23-point, 21-rebound double-double. Reardon and Tade finished with 12 points each. Army held the advantage in second chance points (19-5) and points in the paint (36-22).
Lafayette concludes the 2025-26 season with a an 11-19 record and a 7-11 mark in conference play.
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