Women’s basketball (2-6) was knocked down by Marist in a road game last Sunday, 52-42. The Leopards turned it around for a midweek win in Kirby Sports Center against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) with a 72-38 final score.
Marist entered the game coming off a two-game winning streak. Lafayette, however, was trying to shake off its past four losses.
Lafayette was the first on the board on Sunday with sophomore guard Abby Antognoli securing a layup at 9:18. However, throughout the first 10 minutes of regulation, the Leopards couldn’t connect on any of their six chances beyond the arc. Junior guard Makayla Andrews, who is currently leading the Leopards in average points and rebounds per game (13.3, 7.9, respectively), acknowledged that her team has struggled from the three point line.
As the quarter continued, the Leopards chipped away at the Red Foxes’ 10-4 lead, but the final score of the quarter was 10-8 in favor of Marist.
“I think in the first quarter we played more team ball. We moved it, we got the extra pass and we moved through the sets well and we executed them,” Andrews said.
During the second quarter, the Leopards found strides offensively, outplaying the Red Foxes 16-15 and tying up the game three times in the quarter.
Entering halftime Lafayette trailed Marist by just one point, 25-24.
Marist tallied a crucial scoring run of 10-2 coming out of the break that kept them ahead of the Leopards for the remainder of the game.
“We’re having a rough time coming out of halftime, and the other team is just beating down on us a little faster than we come out,” sophomore guard and transfer from Quinnipiac, Halee Smith said. Smith led the Leopards with 11 points on the night.
Andrews admitted that the team’s transition defense was lacking in the final minutes of regulation, allowing Marist to have ample scoring opportunities. The Leopards put them on the line 11 times in the final quarter. The Red Foxes capitalized on 15 points off of turnovers.
Lafayette managed to stay consistent in free throw opportunities, going six for six at the line. The Leopards also had 51 rebounds to the Red Foxes’ 38, but this was not enough to compete with Marist’s 24 points in the paint or 20 bench points.
After the loss over the weekend, Lafayette hosted UMBC in Kirby Sports Center on Wednesday night.
Andrews said that going into the game, the team aimed to fine-tune its defense, specifically prioritizing boxing out and limiting UMBC from getting second-chance points. The Leopards did just that, as they steamrolled the Retrievers 72-38.
The Leopards came out strong Wednesday night and didn’t let up. In the second half, Maroon and White outscored Yellow and Black by 12 points each quarter (22-10, 24-12 respectively).
Andrews continued her consistent offensive and defensive performance. She added 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Andrews is confident in the ability of her younger teammates to find success as the season progresses.
“Our transfer, [Smith], starts with us and she does all the little things, she hustles,” Andrews said. “Our freshmen give it their all, they’re not afraid, they hustle, they’re always in the gym, so it’s very promising.”
The team hopes the victory will give them the momentum necessary to win going forward. Smith believes the team has more to give, and the scoreboard has not always reflected their talent.
“I don’t think our record really defines us right now,” Smith said.
The Leopards will be on the road again tomorrow, taking on Columbia University at 1 p.m.
