WASHINGTON D.C. (01/13/07)—Colgate junior Melanie Cargle (Trotwood, Ohio) scored a game-high 19 points and added three assists and four steals as the Raiders’ second-half comeback fell short, 69-58, at American University in Patriot League women’s basketball action this afternoon. Abby Lipskis and Nicole Ryan led the Eagles with 17 points apiece.

 

Colgate drops to 2-16 overall and 1-2 in league action, while American improves to 7-11 and 2-1 against league foes.

 

Junior Molly Patterson (Euclid, Ohio) added a season-high 14 points, four assists, and three steals for the Raiders, while Shevorne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 10 points and seven rebounds.

 

The first half was a streaky one for the Raiders as they went through a couple of long stretches without a basket. The Raiders’ defense kept things close as American struggled to get good looks at the basket as well. Tied at 13 at the 8:25 mark, the Eagles controlled the remainder of the half, going on a 20-5 run, including scoring 12 straight points in the final 2:28 for a 33-18 halftime lead.

 

Trailing by 15 points at the break, Colgate fell behind by as many as 20 points before mounting a furious comeback. Down, 40-20, the Raiders went on a 20-6 run over the next seven minutes to make it a six-point game, 46-40.

 

American went back ahead by nine points with a three-pointer from Nicole Ryan at the 7:09 mark and then used 16 free throws in the final four minutes to secure the 11-point win.

 

Freshman TaHara Williams (Mason, Ohio) cut it to six again at the 1:30 mark with a three-pointer, but the Raiders couldn’t get any closer as the Eagles knocked down their shots from the charity stripe in the final 90 seconds.

 

The Raiders shot 40 percent for the game and 50 percent from long range, while American was 37.7 percent from the floor and just 21.4 percent from behind the arc.

 

Liz Hayes added 13 points for American, while Lipskis and Maggie Smith-Davidson led all players on the glass with 10 rebounds apiece. Colgate’s Gretchen Polinski (Mansfield, Ohio) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for the Raiders.

 

Colgate returns to action on Jan. 16 at Lehigh for a 7 p.m. game with the Mountain Hawks.