WASHINGTON - The American University women's basketball team (8-12, 4-6 PL) made a late surge in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to lift the Eagles over Lafayette (11-9, 7-3 PL) as they fell to the Leopards, 67-52.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Senior Kaitlyn Marenyi led the Eagles for the second consecutive game, and fifth time in PL play, with 13 points, shooting 4-for-12 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line.
• Sophomore Jade Edwards brought down a team-high six boards alongside her seven points, two assists, two blocks, and one steal.
• The Eagles had their lowest shooting percentage since Boston University (Jan. 5), hitting 33.3 percent from the field (18-54), and 28.6 percent from three (6-21).
• Four Leopards landed in double-figures to lead Lafayette, starting with 18 points from Natalie Kucowski. Alexis Santarelli added 14 along with a game-high nine boards, followed by Drew Freeland (13) and Nicole Johnson (11).
• Kucowski also added six blocks on the day. The top rebounder in Division I, averaging 13.6 rpg heading into the weekend, she was held to only seven by AU, making this the fifth game in the conference slate that she missed a double-double.
• Lafayette had one of its strongest performances all season with 47.4 percent shooting from three (9-19) and 48.0 percent overall from the floor (24-50).
• The Leopards led in points in the paint, 26-14, and points off turnovers, 14-13, while the Eagles held the advantage in bench points, 21-6, fast break points, 4-2, and second chance opportunities, 9-5.
• The Leopards also held the slight edge on the boards, 34-31.
• The two teams traded basket-for-basket in the opening minutes, with the lead changing hands six times until back-to-back three's from Kucowski sent the Leopards into the first break with a 14-7 advantage.
• American struggled to hit the mark in the second quarter, shooting only 3-for-13 from the field while the Leopards hit an 18-10 run, including a final three from Kucowski that closed the half with a 32-17 spread.
• Shooting woes continued to haunt AU in the third quarter as the Leopards spread their lead to a game-high 23 at 52-29 by the end of the stanza.
• The Eagles picked up momentum in the fourth, though, behind a 14-point effort off the bench with sophomore Emily Fisher (6), freshman Lauren Stack (5) and sophomore Laura Graytok (3) all hitting clutch baskets to cut into Lafayette's lead.

NEXT UP...
American will take a few days off before returning to the road for a two-game stretch, starting with Army West Point on Saturday, February 8, followed by the short drive to Loyola Maryland on Wednesday, Feb. 12. The Eagles will be back home on Saturday, Feb. 15, for a 2 p.m. showdown against Bucknell. The game will also serve as the team's annual Play4Kay Pink Out, and will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Washington.

For the latest on American University Women's Basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_WBasketball) and Instagram (@auwbasketball).