HAMILTON, N.Y. (01/28/2006)—Colgate University freshman guard Gretchen Polinski (Mansfield, Ohio) posted her second career double-double with a career-high matching 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to lead the Raiders to a, 66-58, victory over first-place Army in Patriot League women’s basketball action this evening. The Raiders stop a four-game losing skid and improve to 4-15 overall and 2-4 in league action, while the Black Knights fall to 11-9 and 5-2 in conference play.

Colgate led by as many as 19 points in the second half and withstood a late charge by Army to grab the eight-point victory. Polinski sunk all six of her shots from the charity stripe in the final 50 seconds to secure the victory down the stretch. The rookie guard made 9-of-11 from the line for the Raiders.

The Black Knights jumped out to a 5-2 lead early, but Colgate used a 10-4 run to go ahead for good 12-9 at the 15:24 mark. Colgate continued to use smothering defense as the Raiders built their lead to as much as 13 points and headed into the locker room up by 12 points, 36-24.

Colgate forced Army into 16 turnovers in the first half and held the Black Knights to 38.1 percent shooting from the field. The Raiders finished the opening 20 minutes 45.5 percent from the floor, including 60 percent from long range. Sophomore guard Melanie Cargle (Trotwood, Ohio) led all scorers at the break with 12 points.

The Raiders continued to pour it on in the second half, scoring nine of the first 12 points of the half to go ahead 45-27 at the 15:49 mark. Trailing by 19 at the 8:57 mark, the Black Knights came storming back to cut the lead to four, 60-56, with a 16-1 run that spanned over seven minutes. Army held Colgate without a field goal for the final 9:30 minutes of the game, but the Raiders knocked down clutch free throws in the closing minute to earn the victory.

Cargle finished with 14 points and six rebounds, while senior guard Megan Ballard (Atlanta, Ga.) added 14 points, four rebounds, and four steals. The Raiders forced Army into 27 turnovers for the game and shot 37.7 percent from the floor and 40 percent from behind the arc.

Freshman Alex McGuire led all scorers with 22 points, while Cara Enright chipped in nine for the Black Knights. Army knocked down 39.6 percent of its shots and just 10 percent from the three-point line in the loss.

Colgate resumes its four-game homestand on Feb. 1, hosting league rival Lehigh University at 7 p.m., on Cotterell Court.