Box Score
EASTON, Pa. (01/10/06)—Colgate University sophomore guard Melanie Cargle (Trotwood, Ohio) recorded her first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Raiders to a 69-56 victory over Lafayette College in Patriot League women’s basketball action this evening. Senior guard Megan Ballard (Atlanta, Ga.) led all Colgate scorers with 16 points. Colgate improves to 3-11 overall and 1-1 in league play.
Both teams got off to a slow start, scoring just six points apiece in the opening five minutes. Sophomore guard Melanie Cargle (Trotwood, Ohio) knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Raiders up 8-6 and freshman guard Gretchen Polinski (Mansfield, Ohio) connected on consecutive threes to give Colgate a 14-6 edge, a lead it never relinquished.
The Raiders kept the pressure on the Leopards, pushing its lead to nine at 24-15 at the 4:50 mark. Lafayette responded with a basket to cut the Colgate advantage to seven and continued to chip away. The Leopards cut the lead to as few as four, 28-24, but the Raiders finished the half up six at 33-27.
Polinski led all Colgate scorers at the break with nine points, going 3-of-4 from long range. Cargle added eight points in opening 20 minutes. The Raiders shot 52 percent (13-of-25) in the first stanza, including 50 percent from behind the arc.
Lafayette’s Vanessa Van De Venter led all scorers with 12 points at the break, as the Leopards shot 39.3 percent (11-of-28) in the first half and just 14.3 percent from long range.
Lafayette (4-10) pulled to within four against, 36-32, in the early minutes of the second half, but it was all Colgate after that as the Raiders stretched their lead to 13 points at the 8:53 mark. The Leopards pulled to within nine, but could not get any closer as Colgate pulled away down the stretch with a 67-51 advantage with 1:51 left on the clock.
Gillard chipped in 12 points of her own and five rebounds, while sophomore Shevorne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) matched her career-high with nine. The Raiders shot 54 percent for the game and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe.
Lafayette was paced on offense by Van De Venter’s 26 points and six rebounds. Val Gomez chipped in six as the Leopards shot 34.5 percent for the contest.
The Raiders return to action on Jan. 14, hosting American University at 4 p.m., at Cotterell Court.
