By Michael Kowaleski

The Lafayette Leopards (2-5) lost to the Penn Quakers (4-1) 49-39 on Wednesday night in an offensive struggle.

Lafayette shot 15-51 from the field, missing all seven 3-point attempts and turning the ball over 18 times.

Center Danielle Fiacco ‘14 and forward Emily Homan ‘15 combined for 22 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocks in the loss. Guard Madeline Fahan ‘14 had nine points and a team-high three assists.

The Leopards frontcourt has excelled, led by Fiacco, Homan and forward Sarah McGorry ‘12 – the team’s top scorers. Combined, they account for almost 60 percent of the team’s total scoring. In the 58-54 loss to Monmouth (2-4) on Sunday, they scored 44 of the Leopards’ 54 points.

The team, however, has had difficulty finding scoring from the perimeter. The Leopards have converted on only 10 of 52 shots from beyond the arc, adding up to 9.6 percent.

Opposing defenses have started zeroing in on Lafayette’s forwards. They expect the pass inside and let the weaker Lafayette perimeter game take itself out of the game.

“We have to take what the defense gives us. Everyone knows what our first instinct is: ‘Look inside, look inside, look inside,'” Nolan said. “We have to be readier to pull the trigger, set our feet and take the shots the defense gives us. Our shooting is something we’ve been working on in practice.”

“We definitely need to figure out the perimeter,” Downey said. “Three point percentages have been down around the country because the line was moved back this year. But we need to keep hitting some outside shots to draw away defenders from our inside players. Once we start making those shots, we’ll be a lot more dangerous.”

Lafayette takes on Manhattan (2-4) at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow at home, followed by a 7:00 p.m. game against St. Joseph’s (4-3).