HAMILTON, N.Y. (1/19/08)—Three Colgate players registered double-digit points, but it was not enough as the Raiders fell to American 88-58 in Patriot League women’s basketball action on Cotterell Court. Senior Shevorne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Raiders with 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

 

The setback drops Colgate to 1-17 overall and 0-3 in the Patriot League, while American stops a seven-game losing streak and moves to 7-11 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

 

Senior Caitlin Gillard (Vestal, N.Y.) added 15 points and a team-high five rebounds to the mix and freshman Krista Moser (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) finished the afternoon with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

 

The first half featured strong shooting and one big run by both the Eagles and Raiders. The two squads traded points in the opening six minutes with American holding a narrow 10-9 lead at the 14:02 mark. The Eagles broke open the game with their big run of the half, outscoring Colgate 19-8 for and 12 point lead with 8:01 remaining in the half.

 

The Raiders responded in a big way with a 13-1 run over the next 4:24 to tie the score at 30 apiece. Martin keyed the run with six points, while three other players got into the scoring mix. Martin sparked the offense, but it was the stellar Raider defense that kept the Eagles off the scoreboard. American had four turnovers in that four-minute span. Colgate finished the first half with 11 points off of turnovers.

 

American guard Liz Hayes knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a 32-30 game and the Eagles outscored the Raiders 5-1 in the final 2:16 for a slight 39-34 lead at the break.

 

Both teams shot well in the opening frame. Colgate knocked down 48 percent of its shots, while American was 46.4 percent from the field.

 

The Eagles came out of the locker room and scored 11 of the first 15 points for a 50-38 lead five minutes into the half. American continued to find the open lanes to the basket and lengthened the lead to 23 points at the 10-minute mark. The Eagles shot 72.4 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from long range to cruise to the 88-58 conference win.

 

Hayes led all scorers with 20 points and added five assists to her stat line. Stephanie N’Garsanet dropped in 13 points and Talicia Jackson and Liz Leer added 12 and 10 points apiece, respectively. N’Garsanet, Pam Stanfield, and Maggie Smith-Davidson all pulled down five boards. Stanfield and Jackson also handed out five assists apiece as American had 20 assists.

 

Colgate shot 45.1 percent from the field for the game, while American finished 59.6 percent from the floor. The Eagles won the battle of the boards 33-24 and had a narrow 28-24 advantage for points in the paint.

 

The Raiders continue Patriot League play on Jan. 23, hosting Lehigh at 7 p.m. The game will be televised live by Time Warner Sports.