BROOKLYN, N.Y.-- The LIU Brooklyn women's basketball team welcomes Lafayette to the Steinberg Center on Saturday to close out the 2018 calendar year and its nonconference slate for the season.
QUICK HITS
- The Blackbirds suffered a 72-38 defeat to Lehigh before the holiday break on December 20. LIU struggled from the floor as the Mountain Hawks defense held the team to a season-low .250 shooting percentage at Stabler Arena. Freshman Ryan Weise led LIU in double figures with a career-high 14 points. Jeydah Johnson contributed seven points and a team-high six rebounds. Destoni Willock contributed a career-high three blocks on defense for LIU.
- Saturday also marks the last non conference matchup for Lafayette who enters the game with a 5-5 record on the season. The Leopards have earned a pair of wins over the Blackbirds NEC counterparts, FDU (63-57) and Wagner (66-43) earlier this year. The team currently ranks 22nd in the nation with 44.20 rebounds per game on the year.
- Natalie Kucowski paces the Lafayette offense with 14.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game to go along with 2.8 assists per game. She has tallied six double-doubles on the year. Olivia Martino is second on the team with 11.5 points per game and Drew Freeland ranks third with 9.5 points per game and leads with a .400 clip from downtown.
- This will be the sixth meeting all-time between the Blackbirds and the Leopards with LIU holding a 3-2 edge in the matchup. Lafayette earned a 69-53 win last season on November 25, 2017 in Easton. Jeydah Johnson paced the Blackbird offense that had three scorers in double figures, finishing with 18 points to go along with six rebounds. points per game.
UP NEXT
The Blackbirds will open up NEC play on the road in the new year with a trip up to Bryant on Saturday, January 5 for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off from the Chace Center.