Box Score
Brooklyn, N.Y. - After trailing by as many as nine points in the second half, the Long Island University women's basketball team used a big run to come back and defeat Lafayette, 64-59, at the Wellness Center. The Blackbirds grinded out a late lead and held off a last-ditch charge by the Leopards in a sloppy game that featured a multitude of traveling calls. Senior Chelsi Johnson tallied a game-high 19 points, including a three-pointer that tied the game and a pair of free throws that put Long Island ahead for good.
The Blackbirds trailed 50-42 with less than eight minutes remaining when sophomore Krystal Wells missed a layup and corralled her own rebound before kicking the ball out to junior Marika Sprow, who sank a three-pointer as the shot clock was about to expire. After the teams traded possessions, Sprow came up with a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup that cut the Long Island deficit to three points.
On the Blackbirds' next trip down the court, Sprow inbounded the ball from under the basket, finding junior Ashley Palmer with a lob pass. Palmer lofted a floater from the middle of the lane to make it 50-49. After Lafayette was whistled for traveling, Johnson scored on a putback to put Long Island ahead 51-50, capping a 9-0 run. The lead was the Blackbirds' first since they held an 8-7 advantage at the outset of the game.
The lead would be short-lived as Lafayette's Samantha Jordan countered with a layup. After a Johnson free throw tied the game, the teams traded points before the Leopards worked out a three-point edge on a layup by Madeline Fahan and a free throw by Danielle Fiacco. Long Island pulled within one at 57-56 on a pair of foul shots by freshman Cleandra Roberts, but Lafayette reestablished a three-point advantage when LaKeisha Wright sank a jumper.
The Leopards' lead would not be safe as Johnson connected on a trey to tie the game with 50 seconds to go. Lafayette's Lauren Jackson then missed a layup and Johnson was fouled going for the rebound by Elizabeth Virgin. Johnson made both ends of a one-and-one to put the Blackbirds up 61-59, a lead that would not be relinquished.
Long Island survived despite missing five free throws from that point on. Roberts made one of her four attempts and senior Heidi Mothershead knocked down a pair to ice the game. Lafayette missed all three of its late shots in an attempt to overcome the Long Island resurgence. All three attempts came with the Leopards trailing by three or less.
Johnson was the only Blackbird to reach double figures in scoring. Roberts finished with nine points while Palmer, Mothershead and Sprow chipped in eight points apiece. Palmer snared a game-high 13 boards. Long Island shot 43 percent from the field for the game and was 5-for-11 from three-point land.
Lafayette was paced by Wright's double-double. She was one of three Leopards to score 10 points, adding 11 rebounds. Jordan and Jackson also tallied 10 points each. Lafayette shot 33 percent from the floor and won the battle of the boards, 46-43.
Long Island improved to 2-0 with the win while Lafayette fell even at 1-1. The Blackbirds are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 1979-80 season that saw them finish 11-10.
Long Island will hit the road on Monday, Nov. 22, traveling upstate to visit Syracuse. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.