Box Score

2004 Championship Highlight Video

HAMILTON – Colgate women's basketball turned back the clock and welcomed more than 20 former team members to Saturday's Patriot League game against American.

They saw the Raiders fall 75-57, but the weekend wasn't a loss by a long shot.

"This was Alumni Weekend and we had probably one of the largest turnouts ever," Colgate head coach Nicci Hays Fort said. "And we had the 2004 team back."

The 2004 Colgate Raiders captured the program's first and only Patriot League championship. That memorable 71-60 victory over American before a packed Cotterell Court house still resonates, not only with the participants but also with those wearing the Maroon colors today.

"They are our only women's basketball team yet to win a Patriot League championship," Hays Fort said. "It's so inspiring to see them all together and hear their stories and see how much passion they have for Colgate.

"We wanted to do something for them, and since this is the 10-year anniversary we thought why not just have a big weekend for them."

Later Saturday night, Colgate basketballers past and present dined and reminisced at the Colgate Inn and were treated to an excellent highlight video on the 2004 team.

Watch the video HERE.

Harris Scores 16
In Saturday's game, three Colgate players found their way into double figures but the Raiders couldn't hold off a second-half American surge. Colgate led by as many as five late in the first half, but rebounding keyed the Eagles' comeback.

American turned a 20-10 rebounding deficit at intermission into a decisive 33-32 edge by game's end.

"They focused on really boxing us out," Hays Fort said. "We had a 10-rebound advantage in the first half, and they really just kept us off the offensive boards; we only had three in the second half.

"They attacked the glass a lot more. We held them to zero offensive boards (in the first half) and they ended up with five. That's not a bad number to give up, but they were all in the second half and that's what you don't like."

Carole Harris (pictured right) scored 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting to lead Colgate. Josie Stockill added 11 and Missy Repoli, making her first start of the season, added 10 points and a game-high six rebounds. Randyll Butler (pictured bottom right) chipped in with six points, three boards and a career-high four assists.

"Randyll did a great job of attacking," Hays Fort said. "She's had a couple of great practices. We expect the rebounding thing from Randyll every game. She's been really confident attacking the rim, so we just need her to keep doing that."

Repoli Stays Hot
Repoli's starting assignment was her first since she started 20 straight to open the 2012-13 campaign. An illness sidelined her for the final 11 games of last year.

The junior was 4-of-5 from the field Saturday and a perfect 2-of-2 beyond the arc. That pushes her numbers the last four games to 21-of-32 from the field overall, and a scorching 14-of-18 from 3-point land. Repoli (pictured right) now leads the team in both categories at 42.9 percent and 43.5 percent, respectively.

That's right. She's shooting better from long range than from the 2-point distance.
"I had a conversation with Coach and she said, 'You're going to start this game and it's not just because you're shooting well,'" Repoli said. "Obviously, it's a great thing. But she said I'm playing with more urgency out there with my rebounding and what I need to do to help this team out."

Repoli's rebound total of six was a season high. It's her best board work since she grabbed nine rebounds last year against Lafayette – her final outing of the 2012-13 season.

"It was good to be back in the starting lineup, and playing with urgency on the defensive end is what gets you there," Repoli said. "We all need good days and not just in scoring. It's got to be rebounding and defending as well.

"We're getting closer and we're getting better every game."

The remaining points for Colgate were scored by Lauryn Kobiela and Mariah Jones with five apiece and Kelly Reid with four. Kobiela had four assists and Reid joined Harris with five rebounds each.

Eagles Perfect at Line
Colgate shot 38 percent for the game, making 23-of-60. The Raiders were 4-of-12 from the 3-point line and 7-of-10 at the charity stripe. American finished at 50 percent, making 25-of-50. The Eagles canned 5-of-17 from long distance and made all 20 free throws.

Arron Zimmerman led all scorers with 19 points as American won its eighth game in the last 10. The Eagles improved to 16-7 overall and 9-3 in the Patriot League, good enough for third place just one game behind the leading service academies.

Colgate, now 5-18 and 1-11, plays Wednesday at Boston University in a 7 p.m. start. The Raiders rolled past BU 81-64 back on Jan. 15 in Hamilton.

"We had a very good game here; we were very confident and we rebounded really well," Hays Fort said. "It was a great team game. I'm sure they're going to do something to stop our transition game. They're going to get back a little bit; probably going to crash the boards.

"We just have to go in with some resolve and some toughness and we've got to be road warriors."

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