HAMILTON, N.Y. (01/17/2006)—Colgate University freshman Gretchen Polinski (Mansfield, Ohio) recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t quite enough as the Raiders fell short against Dartmouth, 67-56, in non-conference women’s basketball action at Cotterell Court. The Big Green’s Ashley Taylor led all players with 15 points and 10 rebounds to push Dartmouth to 10-3 overall, while Colgate fell to 3-13 on the year.

The Raiders jumped out to a 15-6 lead in the opening five minutes thanks to an 11-0 run sparked by seniors Megan Ballard (Atlanta, Ga.) and Devon Warwick’s (Amesbury, Mass.) combined nine points. The Big Green answered right away with a 17-0 run that spanned over five minutes and gave Dartmouth a 23-15 lead at the 9:11 mark of the first half.

Ballard knocked down the next two baskets to cut the lead to four, 23-19, and sophomore Melanie Cargle (Trotwood, Ohio) added two more points to make it a one possession game at 23-21 with 7:31 on the clock.

The seesaw battle continued as Dartmouth jumped back up by seven before Colgate cut it to two again with 1:58 remaining. The Big Green put together another 9-0 run to go ahead 39-30 at the break.

Ballard led all scorers at the half with 12 points and added four steals. She finished the contest with 14 points, five steals, four assists, and four rebounds. The Raiders shot 38.9 (14-of-36) percent in the first stanza, while Dartmouth hit 41.4 percent (12-of-29) of its shots.

The second half was much of the same as the Big Green started to pull away, taking a 46-35 early in the second period. Colgate would not go away, using a 9-2 run over the next five minutes to make it a four-point game at 48-44. Dartmouth built the lead back up to nine with 2:01 left on the clock, but the Raiders cut it to five with just under a minute to go. Dartmouth closed out the final 49 second with six free throws to ice the 67-56 victory.

Sophomore Caitlin Gillard (Vestal, N.Y.) chipped in 11 points for Colgate, while Warwick finished with eight points and two blocks. The Raiders shot 36.4 percent (24-of-66) from the field for the game.

Sydney Scott contributed 14 points to the Big Green offense, while Angie Soriaga and Krista Perry added 11 and 10, respectively. Scott also picked up nine rebounds. Dartmouth shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56) overall and 31.3 percent from long range, over 11 percent under its season average.

The Raiders resume Patriot League play on Jan. 21, traveling to Bucknell for a 4 p.m., contest with the Bison.