Box Score

HAMILTON, N.Y. (2/22/12) – In her last game at Cotterell Court senior Tricia Oakes recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Colgate women's basketball team secured at least the sixth seed in the Patriot League Tournament with a 69-60 win over Lafayette on Wednesday night.

Junior Jhazmine Lynch tied Oakes with a game-high 21 points, to go along with five assists, while sophomore Lauryn Kobiela added a season-high 12 points and six assists. Senior Kelly Korkowski also recorded a career-high with five blocked shots.

Both teams exchanged opening baskets, before the Leopards hit another one to take an early 4-2 lead. But senior Candice Green answered back with a three-pointer to give the Raiders a 5-4 lead. Colgate then continued to keep the pressure on Lafayette defensively holding the Leopards to just two points over the next six minutes of action to increase its lead to 15-6 with 11:46 left. The Leopards ended their six-minute scoring drought with two free throws from Linnel Macklin to close the lead to 15-8 with 9:16 to go. Over the next 1:21 the Raiders put together a 6-1 run to take their largest lead of the half, 21-9, as they sought to put the Leopards away early. Lafayette would answer with an 11-2 run and cut the deficit to 23-20 with 4:16 left in the half. But the Raiders put together a 15-6 run to end the half, including a half-court buzzer beater from Lynch, to give Colgate a 38-26 lead.

Colgate (8-20, 5-8) returned to the floor looking to keep the game out of reach as Kobiela scored the opening points of the second half. The Raiders then continued their defensive pressure to create offensive opportunities. With 17:12 left in the contest a lay-up from Oakes gave the Raiders a 46-30 lead, their largest of the game. However, the Leopards wouldn't allow Colgate to stray to far as they used an 11-5 run over a span of 8:21 to trim the lead to 51-41 with 7:31 left in the game. But, Colgate was not fazed by the Lafayette run, as the Raiders remained calm down the stretch to secure its fourth-straight win at home and at least the sixth seed in the Patriot League Tournament.

Colgate recorded a season-high 10 blocks while shooting 45.3 percent from the field, its third best shooting night of the season. Colgate also showed why they are one of the best free throw shooting teams in the Patriot League going 8-for-10 from the charity stripe.

Colgate will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 25 when it travels to Holy Cross for the regular season finale. The winner of the game will get the fifth seed in the Patriot League Tournament, while the loser will drop no lower than sixth. Tip-off is scheduled to begin 1:00 p.m. and will be streamed live on Patriot League All-Access.