For the first time all year, the women’s basketball team lost back-to-back games. The loss to Colgate on Jan. 31 dropped the Bison to 13-8, 5-5 in Patriot League play. However, the team rebounded with stifling defense, securing a 51-37 home win over Lafayette on Feb. 4.

Claire DeBoer ’17 led the Bison with 12 points and nine rebounds. However, she was the only Bison to score in double figures. Carly Richardson ’18 was a bright spot for the Bison off of the bench as she scored 7 points and grabbed four rebounds. Megan McGurk ’17 and Claire Maree O’Bryan ‘16 both added six points each.

The Bison also struggled to score the basketball and turned the ball over 25 times with only four assists. The Bison shot 34.7 percent (17-49) from the field and 6.7 percent (1-15) from beyond the arc. The Bison also only had nine trips to the free throw line and were (6-9).

Against Lafayette, Audrey Dotson ’15 scored a game-high 17 points. She factored in 23 of the teams last 29 points. With the win against Lafayette, the Bison improve to 14-8, 6-5 in Patriot League play. Currently sitting tied for fifth place in the conference with Holy Cross, they are just one game out of third place and two games out of second place.

“We have been struggling these past two games, we needed to play better collectively, but I put the focus on myself to lead us tonight. I’m happy we came out with a win tonight and hope we can carry this into momentum into Saturday,” said Dotson. Dotson’s 17 points came on 7-10 shooting from the field. She added five assists, two blocks, and four rebounds.

The first half was evenly matched, as neither team was able to takeover. The Bison would go into the half with a 22-21 lead, but never looked back from there. Leading the charge was the senior captain, Dotson, as she scored seven of the team’s first nine points. With the score at 31-29 with 14:01 left to play, the Bison went on a 10-0 run to extend their lead. The largest lead of the night for the squad came at the 5:55 mark, as the score was 47-31.

Once again, the Bison were dominant on the boards, as they outrebounded Lafayette 51-27. Deboer led the team with a career-high 16 rebounds in 25 minutes.

McGurk added nine points and four assists for the Bison. After only having four assists against Colgate, the Bison assisted on 18 of their 21 field goals. For the first time since 2011, the Bison swept the season series with Lafayette.

The Bison will hit the road this weekend as they travel to take on Patriot League opponent Holy Cross on Saturday at 2 p.m.