Box Score

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – No matter Saturday's outcome, Colgate head coach Nicci Hays Fort considers her team's weekend swing into The City an unqualified success.

Drexel held Colgate to nine first-half points Saturday afternoon en route to a 51-33 decision in the championship game of the LIU Brooklyn Turkey Classic.

The Raiders (2-3) held Drexel to just 31 percent shooting from the field over the first 20 minutes, and only 35 percent for the game. But Colgate made only four of their own 24 shot attempts before halftime and trailed 21-9 at the break.

“We had a great team win Friday against LIU,” Hays Fort said. “Great energy; great effort – we did so many things well. It was one of our top two games since I've been at Colgate, if not the top.

“And then just very inconsistent today.”

Task at Hand
Hays Fort said during the week leading up to Thanksgiving, she refused to let her team look past LIU Brooklyn, which may have caused the Raiders a slight let-down after a key road victory.

Don't forget: Colgate won just once on the road all of last season.

“I knew Friday's game was big for us,” Hays Fort said. “We wanted to play a certain style against LIU and we did, but we probably expended a lot of energy.

“And then we put so much focus on defending Drexel, I don't know that maybe I put enough emphasis on how we were going to score.”

Missy Repoli's 3-pointer with 17:08 left in the opening half tied the game for Colgate at 3-all. But the Raiders converted only three more baskets the rest of the period, including a scoreless stretch of 6:35 to end the half after Paige Kriftcher's layup made it 14-9 with 6:35 left.

Colgate extended that scoreless streak another 3 minutes and 29 seconds to start the second half before Kelly Reid hit a layup with 16:31 left that made it 25-11. The Raiders drew as close as 41-29 on Repoli's second trey with 5:33 left, but that was as close as it got.

Defensive Emphasis
Drexel (4-1) shot only 35 percent from the floor, but held Colgate to just under 27 percent. The Raiders won the rebounding battle 40-39, but committed double the number of turnovers by 14-7.

“Defensively, we did a great job today,” Hays Fort said. “Drexel is a really hard team to guard because they are just a really well-coached team. But I didn't emphasize enough how we were going to get scoring opportunities. That really hurt us.

“We did get shots but we weren't focused enough to knock them down.”

Reid led the Raiders with eight points and Repoli added six.

Colgate placed two players, Mariah Jones and Josie Stockill, on the All-Tournament Team.

“Mariah stepped up and played well both games,” Hays Fort said of her sophomore guard. “She was solid defensively and solid with her decision-making – and that's what we need her to be.

“Josie had a great first half Friday. Today, she wasn't her normal self and I'm hoping that's just a little freshman inconsistency because she could be a very good player for us.”

Connecticut Trip
Colgate's next two games are in the state of Connecticut. The Raiders meet second-ranked Connecticut in Hartford on Wednesday at 7, and then return to play Sacred Heart in Fairfield on Saturday at 1.

“Two very good teams – obviously very different,” Hays Fort said. “UConn, in my opinion, is the No. 1 team in the country. I know Stanford is No. 1 because they beat Baylor, but UConn is pretty good. Their defense is what's impressive right now.

“We will have lots of goals about just competing for possessions Wednesday night. There are things we want to do offensively and defensively, and we will just see how it plays out.”

2012 LIU Brooklyn Turkey Classic
All-Tournament Team

Mariah Jones, COLGATE
Josie Stockill, COLGATE
Nicole Jones, Drexel
Hollie Mershon, Drexel
Kim Nezianya, Missouri-Kansas City

Tournament MVP: Hollie Mershon, Drexel