Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
3-8,0-1Patriot
Lafayette College
6-6,1-0Patriot
Women's Basketball Drops Conference Opener to Lafayette
January 03, 2024 | Women's Basketball
West Point, NY – The Army West Point women's basketball team (3-8) dropped their conference opener Wednesday night against Lafayette (6-6) by a score of 42-68. Freshman Kya Smith led all scorers with ten points while pulling down seven rebounds of which four were offensive, giving the Black Knights several second-chance scoring opportunities. Six of the nine total scorers for Army were freshmen as this new class continues to grow and gain confidence.
How it Happened
Army struggled to shoot the ball going 8.7% from deep and just 26.3% from the field. The Lafayette Leopards went 53.8% from the field while putting up 38.5% from three. Army quickly fell to a twelve-point deficit in the first quarter as freshman Taylor Wilson and Camryn Tade were the only Black Knights to score with just over three minutes remaining in the opening frame. Senior Sam McNaughton added four points to end the quarter as Army went into the second quarter trailing by ten.
Reese Ericson hit the first three of the game for the Black Knights to open up the scoring for Army. Trinity Hardy and Kya Smith found their first points of the night in the second quarter while freshman Carlee Casteel hit Army's second and last three of the game with just a minute remaining in the first half. The Leopards matched that three at the buzzer and took a thirteen-point lead into halftime.
Kya Smith opened up the third quarter for Army with an and-one play, Trinity Hardy got the offensive rebound off the missed free throw which allowed Smith to get another bucket to cut the Lafayette lead to single digits with seven minutes to go in the third. Lafayette answered with a swift six-point run to put the lead at fifteen. The Black Knights went into the final ten minutes down 36-55.
Lafayette closed out the final quarter with thirteen more points to make it a 68-42 game with just under four minutes left to play. Neither team found another bucket and the final buzzer would sound as the Leopards took home the victory.
Army will be on the road for the first time in a month and a half as they take on Holy Cross in Worcester, MA on Saturday at 2:00 PM.
Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point Women's Basketball, follow the Black Knights on:
Twitter: @ArmyWP_WBB
Instagram: @armywp_wbb, and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.
