51³Ô¹ÏÍø

'xml:namespace prefix = o ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office' /> 'xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags' />Jan. 10, 2004

EASTON, Penn. ‘ The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø women’s basketball team defeated the Leopards of Lafayette in both team’s conference opener on Saturday.  Emily Braseth (E. Grand Rapids, Mich.) was the Raider’s leading scorer for the fourth straight game with 24 points.

Both teams were neck and neck throughout the first half, exchanging the lead five times.  Lafayette led by as many as five, while the Raiders largest advantage of the half was six points.  Heading into the half the Raiders held a 34-30 lead thanks to a jumper from Braseth in the final minute of play.

The Raiders shot .379 on 11-29 from the field in the first half, while the Leopards drained 10 of 23 shots for a .435 percentage in the first half.  Braseth led the Raiders with 11 first-half points, while Burke added nine.  Brianne Welte led the Leopards with seven points and six rebounds.  The Leopards outrebounded the Raiders 22-11. 

At the start of the second half, Lafayette tied the score at 34 before Milaina Lagzdins (Burlington, Ont.) knocked down two foul shots to put the Raiders on the board.  The Raiders built a 43-36 lead punctuated by a three from freshman Molly Patterson (Euclid, Ohio) at 17:17.  At the 12 minute mark, the Raiders maintained their eight point advantage leading 54-46.

The Leopards moved within five with 3:35 left to play on a lay-up from Colleen Fitzpatrick to make the score 71-66, before Lafayette’s Elecia Kruise brought the score to 72-68 with a lay-up at 3:06.  Lafayette closed within three with 30 seconds remaining, but Chigozie Ozor (Ann Arbor, Mich.) drained two clutch free throws to give the Raider’s a five point advantage.

Kruise made a lay-up to bring the score to 77-74 before Rothweiler’s fifth foul of the game sent Ozor to the line where she drained the second of her two shots to make it 78-74.  Megan Ballard (Atlanta, Ga.) sealed the win with two free throws in the game’s final seconds to give the Raiders an 80-74 victory .

Five Raiders posted double-digit scoring figures.  Braseth ended the contest with a game-high 24 points, as well as a team-high six rebounds and five steals.  Ozor came away with 13 points and four steals, while Burke added 11 points and Patterson contributed 10.  Sophomore Meghan Curtin (Bronx, N.Y.) finished the contest with a season-high 11 points.

Fitzpatrick led four Leopards in double-figures with 16 points before fouling out in the games final minutes.  Kruise contributed 14 points to the Leopard effort, while Lindsay Myers and Kara Stetler added 11 apiece.

51³Ô¹ÏÍø moves to 8-5 on the season and 1- 0 in the Patriot League, while the Leopards fall to 0-11 overall and 0-1 in conference play.  The Raiders will return to Hamilton to continue league play on Jan.13 in a mid-week match up against the Crusaders of Holy Cross at 7:00 p.m. on Cotterell Court.