Box Score
EASTON, Pa. – Colgate guaranteed itself a road trip to open Patriot League Tournament play after losing 81-70 to Lafayette here Wednesday.
Carole Harris posted her seventh double-double of the season, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while
Missy Repoli added 18 points and
Lauryn Kobiela 12. But the long and lanky Leopards shot it well to start the game and controlled the boards throughout with a 51-34 edge in that department.
"They had 43 points at the half and 26 of those points were from the paint, so you're going to shoot a high percentage," Colgate head coach
Nicci Hays Fort said. "They did a great job of moving the ball around and we were kind of reacting. Instead of being the enforcers on defense, we were just reacting.
"We also weren't scoring enough, so we weren't able to put on any pressure and we couldn't mix up our defenses. They did a great job of finding opening players and making shots."
Although the setback snapped a two-game Colgate winning streak, the Patriot League office announced late Wednesday night that the Raiders clinched a ninth-place finish. Win or lose Saturday's Senior Day game against Lehigh, the Raiders and Mountain Hawks are meeting again Tuesday in the 8-9 game back in Bethlehem, Pa.
Difference a Year Makes
Want some perspective on how well Lafayette played to open Wednesday's game? At the third media timeout with 7:52 left before half, the Leopards were:
• 14-of-20 from the field
• 3-of-3 from downtown
• 4-of-4 from the free-throw line
Lafayette led 35-18.
Forty-two seconds later, Lafayette forward Emily Homan scored a layup to make it 37-20 with 7:10 showing. The irony is that nearly one year ago to the day, Colgate held the Leopards to exactly 37 points
for the game in a 39-37 victory.
Nonetheless, the Raiders didn't quit. They whittled that 17-point disadvantage to just nine by the half, outscoring Lafayette 10-3 over the final 4:45. The last bucket came on a nifty half-court pass from
Randyll Butler to Harris for a layin right before the horn that made it 43-34 at intermission.
"They were up 17 and we wanted to get it to single digits by halftime, and we did," Hays Fort said. "We get a great play right there at the end where Carole gets a runout and Randyll hits her with a great pass, and Carole makes a nice catch and lays it in."
The Raiders carried that surge into the second-half restart, scoring the first six points – four by Harris – to force a Lafayette timeout at 18:23 with the score suddenly 43-40. Colgate was as close as 45-43 after Kobiela hit a jumper, and actually got a defensive stop on the ensuing possession. But the Raiders turnover it over quickly and Lafayette capitalized, and Colgate never had the ball within one score again.
"We had some momentum going into halftime and coming out of halftime," Hays Fort said. "We cut it to two at one point but we just couldn't sustain it.
"I liked our momentum and I liked our energy. We just needed one more thing to go our way to get over that hump."
Harris Double Leader Again
Harris reached double figures for the 17th time in 28 games, led the team in scoring for the 11th time and in rebounding for the 14th time. It was her sixth occasion to lead in both categories. Repoli and Kobiela scored in double figures, each for the seventh time to maintain a tie for third-best on the team.
"We had a rough start tonight but we showed we can fight and compete with teams like that," Harris said. "They scored 43 on us the first half, so we were trying to tightened up our defense and keep them off the boards.
"We will be ready for the Lehigh game and for Senior Day. It would be nice to get another win."
Repoli was 4-of-8 from downtown and leapfrogged
Mariah Jones for the active Colgate lead in career 3-point field goals made. Repoli is now fifth on the Raider list with 114, Jones is sixth with 112 and
Catherine Lewis – who was 2-of-5 from long distance – is eighth with 108.
Butler and Lewis scored six points apiece, Jones added four,
Kathryn Taylor three and
Kelly Reid two to complete the Colgate scoring.
Colgate shot 38.6 percent from the field, making 27-of-70. The Raiders were 7-of-19 from 3-point distance and 9-of-14 at the line. Lafayette finished at 47 percent from the field, making 31-of-66. The Leopards converted 6-of-14 from the arc and 13-of-20 at the line.
Kobiela added six assists to improve her fifth-best Raider total to 355. Butler finished with a career-high five helpers.
Lafayette was led by Homan's 17 points.
Colgate dropped to 7-21 overall and 3-14 in the Patriot League, while Lafayette improved to 14-14 and 8-9.
Senior Day Saturday
Saturday's Senior Day is likely the final Cotterell Court appearance for Kobiela, Lewis and Taylor. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m., but Senior Day festivities should begin around 3:45.
"You never know about Senior Day," Hays Fort said. "Everyone's emotions could be "boo-hoo" and "oh, my gosh; this is my last home game." Or they could come out with a little fire in their bellies and go off on a great note.
"I hope the latter is the case. I want them to end their Cotterell Court playing career on a high note. We want to be going into the playoffs on a high note, and we have a chance to end the regular season winning three out of four."
