EASTON, Pa. – The Army West Point women’s basketball team handled its business on the road, recording a 62-50 win over Lafayette on Saturday afternoon in the Kirby Sports Center.
Army (18-5, 9-3) had one of its better offensive games as of late, especially from distance, as it made 10 3-pointers to overpower Lafayette (8-15, 4-8). Reese Ericson made six threes and moved into fifth-place all-time in the Patriot League record book.
Ericson led the way with 18 points, with all her points coming on threes. Saturday marked her 13th game this season with 10-plus points and her first game since Jan. 21 against Bucknell.
The Black Knights got off to a slow start in the first quarter, as the Leopards led 9-4 going into the media timeout. Army was struggling to get its shots to fall, a common trend as of late. Leading 13-11, Lafayette closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to make it 19-11.
Despite the slow start, Army seemed to find its offensive groove in the opening possessions of the second quarter, as Taylor Wilson and Camryn Tade each knocked down threes to cut the deficit to two. With Lafayette leading 29-24 with under four minutes to go, the Army offense came alive and closed the quarter on a 14-4 run to take a five-point lead into halftime.
Over the run, Ericson buried three triples while Reganne Reardon added one of her own. The second quarter was arguably the best 10 minute offensive stretch of Ercison’s season, as she scored 12 points on 4-5 shooting. Tade added nine points in the period.
After shooting under 35 percent in the first quarter, Army responded with a 55.6 percent shooting clip in the second period. The Black Knights also went 7-10 from beyond the arc. On the other side of the court, Lafayette shot 36.4 percent from the field.
The Leopards responded well coming out of halftime and tied things up at 41-41 with just under five minutes to play in the third quarter. Ericson buried her fifth three of the game – and 246th of her career – to put Army back ahead. That bucket moved the senior guard into sole possession of fifth-place in the Patriot League record book for made threes. Army led for the rest of the way.
The Black Knights closed the quarter on a 6-0 run, which included buckets from Tade, Kya Smith and Soleil Montrose, to take a 50-43 lead into the final 10 minutes of action.
Smith scored a pair of early buckets in the fourth, pushing the Army lead to 10 and forcing Lafayette into a timeout. Ericson knocked down her final triple of the game right out of the break and Army was on cruise control the rest of the way.
The win marked the ninth road victory of the season for Army. It’s just the second time in the last nine years that the Black Knights have won nine games away from Christl Arena (2024-25).
