Bucknell University
4-12,0-5Patriot
Lafayette
7-9,3-2Patriot
Women's Basketball Falls 62-49 as Lafayette Pulls Away in Second Half
1/14/2026 6:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. — After falling to a 12-point deficit early in the game, Bucknell (4-12, 0-5 PL) utilized a 12-0 run late in the second quarter that saw six different point scorers, to claw back and tie the game at 30 apiece heading into halftime. The comeback efforts wouldn't be enough as Lafayette (7-9, 3-2 PL) would quickly tally a second-half lead that the Bison were unable to come back from despite closing the gap to one in the third quarter.Â
Tuana Coskun led the Bison in scoring with 16 points. Desirae Ashton matched her career-high of 10 points which she set on Saturday against Loyola. Ashton has been a spark off the bench for the Bison in recent games on both sides of the ball. She also added six rebounds, two steals and a block in the game.Â
Lafayette opened the game with an easy layup before Casey hit a three-pointer for the Bison to take a 3-2 lead. The Leopards then made back-to-back three-pointers after forcing Bucknell to miss a shot and regained the lead 8-3. Richards notched a jumper and Maddison Krug followed that up with one of her own for Lafayette to send the Leopards into the media timeout with a 10-5 advantage. Out of the break, the score went unchanged for three minutes before Zemitis broke the silence with a three-pointer to close the Bison's deficit to two. Lafayette put up four points on a free-throw and a three-pointer, but Coskun ended the quarter with a three of her own to close the gap to three at the end of the first quarter.Â
Ashton opened the second quarter of play by banking in a jump shot to make it a one-point game, but the Leopards strung together a 6-0 run to take a 20-13 lead early in the quarter. Coskun broke the run with a strong turnaround jumper that drew a foul and ended in a three-point play after she made the free-throw. Lafayette quickly answered with a three pointer of its own to make it a 23-16 game halfway through the second. Houghton hit a mid-range jumper to make it a five-point game, but the Leopards then took charge ahead of the media timeout as Zurinskas drained a three and then Lafayette forced a turnover and scored on a breakaway layup to take a 10-point lead at the break. Out of the media timeout, Adamski hit a jumper for Lafayette. The Bison then went on a 12-0 run featuring six different scorers to mount a comeback and end the quarter in a 30-30 tie.
Lafayette opened the second half on a seven-point run, forcing Bucknell to call a timeout just three minutes into the third quarter. Out of the break, the game went scoreless for a minute and a half before the Bison went on a 6-0 run, led by two Ashton layups, to make it a one-point game. Lafayette then went on a 9-0 run that gave them a 10-point lead for the second time in the contest. Coskun ended the run with two made free-throws to end the quarter by cutting Bucknell's deficit to eight.
Lafayette opened the final quarter of play with an easy three-pointer and the teams then traded baskets until a three-pointer was made by Coskun and Lafayette called a timeout with a 51-44 lead and six-and-a-half minutes left to play. Lafayette's Ntaconayigize then hit two three-pointers while the Bison saw three points on free-throws. Lafayette ended the final three minutes out-scoring Bucknell 4-2 in the final three minutes of play to secure a 62-49 victory.Â
Lafayette had three scorers in double figures as Theresa Kiewet led all scorers with 20 points. Ntaconayigize had 14 points and Haylie Adamski scored 12 points. The Leopards shot 41.1 percent from the field and were 9-of-23 from three.Â
The Bison struggled from the field, shooting just 27.7 percent and 18.2 percent from behind the arc. The Bison forced more turnovers as Lafayette had 13 compared to Bucknell's 10, but the Leopards scored more points in transition. Lafayette had the better of the Bison off the glass, winning the rebound battle 44-35 led by Krug's 18 rebounds. Â
Bucknell is back in action on Saturday as the Bison Colgate at 2 p.m. in Sojka Pavilion.Â
