HAMILTON, N.Y. (1/24/09) -   The Colgate women's basketball team fell to the Bucknell Bison, 86-54, at Cotterell Court on Saturday afternoon.  Freshman Tricia Oakes (Evergreen, Colo.) led the Raiders with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Tayler Wejnert (Ramsey, N.J.) and Gretchen Polinski (Mansfield, Ohio) each had nine points for Colgate with Polinski adding four boards.  Bucknell was led by three players each with 16 points apiece.  Lauren Schober, Morgan Wrightson and Cosima Higham all had 16 points for the Bison with Higham tallying 14 rebounds as well.  

Bucknell (10-8, 2-3) was able to gain an early lead, going on a 15-2 run within the first seven minutes of play.  Colgate (4-16, 0-5) were able to get back within 10, 18-10, off of lay-ups from Wejnert and Sami Kozlowski (New Market, Md.).  The Bison then hit three three-pointers on their way to a 23 point lead, 40-17, with five minutes remaining in the half.  Kelly Korkowski (Williamsburg, Va.) and Oakes each scored in the closing minutes, but Bucknell had a 48-21 advantage heading into half-time.

Colgate shot 44.4 percent (8-18) from the field and went 4-5 from the free throw line in the opening stanza.  Bucknell finished the half shooting 69.0 percent (20-29) from the floor and 71.4 percent (5-7) from three point range.  The Bison scored 28 points on turnovers, after their full court press forced 14 Colgate turnovers.  Rebounds were tied at 10 for each team at the half.

The Bison jumped out to a 54-22 point advantage in the opening minutes of the second half, before Colgate started to chip away at their lead.  The Raiders went on an 18-7 run spurred by back-to-back three's from Wejnert, Polinski and Kozlowski to make it 61-40 with 12:46 on the clock.  Colgate cut down on the turnover points they allowed Bucknell, giving up only 12 points in the second half, but the Bison's lead proved to be too much to overcome as they went on to win 86-54.

The Raiders finished the day on 42.2 percent (19-45) shooting from the floor.  They were 4-10 (40.0 percent) on three-pointers in the second half and shot 73.3 percent (11-15) from the free throw line for the game.  Bucknell shot 55.6 percent (35-63) overall and went 11-21 from behind the arc.  Both teams finished with 28 rebounds.

Colgate will continue its two-game home stand when they face Holy Cross at Cotterell Court on Wednesday.  Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.