This Week
Monday, November 14: Rider at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, November 16: Alabama State at 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 21: Wagner at 2 p.m.
The Raiders will be busy this week hosting three non-conference games over the next six days. Colgate will start the week off against Rider on Monday at 7 p.m. The Raiders will then face Alabama St. on Wednesday, Nov. 16 followed by a Saturday afternoon match-up against Wagner at 2 p.m.
Scouting the Broncs
Rider opened its 2009-10 schedule last Friday against Big East foe Seton Hall, falling to the Pirates 63-49. Junior Cintella Spotwood led the Broncs in scoring with 14 points followed by sophomore Sarah Homan with 13. Homan and rookie Dior Brown each tallied seven rebounds to lead Rider against the boards. The Broncs shot just 35.6 percent from the floor, while finishing 14-18 from the free throw line. Rider finished the 2008-09 season 10-20 overall and 7-11 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The squad returned 10 players from last season, including four of their five starters. Head coach Lynn Milligan is entering her third season at the helm of the Rider women's basketball team, tallying a record of 18-42 in her previous two seasons with the Broncs.
Scouting the Hornets
Alabama State opened its season last weekend against nearby University of Mobile, defeating the Lady Rams, 63-50. Junior transfer Nikel White led the Hornets offensively with 12 points followed by freshman Erica Henderson with 10 points, including 2-6 shooting from the behind the arc. Fellow junior Tanika Jackson had ten rebounds while White added six to lead the Hornets on the boards. Alabama State finished the 2008-09 season with an overall record of 14-16 and an 11-8 mark in the Southwest Athletic Conference. Jackson and senior Shanice Merritt are the Hornets top returners with Jackson averaging 8.3 points per game and 5.9 rebounds last year while Merritt averaged 7.8 points and 5.6 boards. Head coach Freda Freeman-Jackson is entering her 12th season at the helm of the Alabama State women's program with an overall record of 129-77.
Scouting the Seahawks
Wagner is currently 0-1 with the start of the 2009-10 season after falling to the fellow Patriot League school Army 74-70 in overtime on Nov. 13th. Junior Ashley Olsen led the Seahawks on both ends of the court with 20 points and 14 boards. Three other players scored in the double-digits, including Marie-Laurence Archambault with 12 points, while sophomore Kelly Clark posted 12 rebounds. The Seahawks shot 63.4 percent during regulation time, including 75 percent from behind the arc during the first half. Head coach Gela Mikalauskas is in her fifth year as the head coach of the Wagner women's basketball squad. The 2008-09 team finished with an overall mark of 7-22 and a 3-15 record in the Northeast Conference.
Last Time Out
Junior Sami Kozlowski (New Market, Md.) scored 14 points to lead the Colgate women's basketball team to a 63-47 victory in their season opener against Presbyterian this past Saturday. Freshman Jhazmine Lynch (San Diego, Calif) picked up 12 points for the Raiders, coming off the bench to play 23 minutes in her collegiate debut. Junior Tayler Wejnert (Ramsey, N.J.) led Colgate in rebounding with a game-high nine.
Colgate's largest lead of the game came in the final seconds as Lynch connected on two free throws to give the Raiders a 19 point advantage, 63-44, with 17 seconds remaining. Presbyterian's Kristen Stevens hit a three to end the game, but the Raiders claimed their first win of the season to earn a 1-0 record. Colgate shot 42.9 percent (21-49) from the floor while the Blue Hose hit 32 percent (16-50).
Series vs. Rider/Alabama State/Wagner
Rider - The Raiders have only played Rider once, during the 2008-09 season, falling to the Broncs 68-56 on Nov. 16.
Sami Kozlowski led all players with 26 points, while
Tricia Oakes added nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Amanda Sepulveda led the Broncs with 15 points.
Alabama State – Wednesday's match-up will mark the first-ever meeting between Colgate and the Hornets.
Wagner - The Raiders hold a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series against the Seahawks, winning the last four of five games against Wagner. The Seahawks won last year's game, a thrilling 58-56 overtime victory.
Katie Garman (Poplar Grove, Ill.) led the Raiders offense with 13 points, two assists and four steals while adding eight rebounds.
Top Returners
The Raiders return 10 players to this year's squad, including four starters from the 2008-09 season. Junior
Tayler Wejnert returns to the Colgate squad after appearing in 20 games last season. Wejnert led the team in scoring averaging 11.7 points per game, followed by fellow junior
Sami Kozlowski who averaged 9.7 points and led the team in steals with 33 in 30 starts with the Raiders.
Tricia Oakes (Evergreen, Colo.) led Colgate on the boards as a freshman, pulling down 6.0 rebounds in 22 games. Sophomore
Candice Green (Ramsey, N.J.) also started in all 30 games for the Raiders last season averaging 6.5 points and 2.5 rebounds.
Preseason Picks
The Colgate women's basketball team was picked to finish seventh in the 2010 Patriot League preseason coaches and sports information directors poll. Defending champion Lehigh was selected to repeat this year, with 97 total points and 13-first place votes. Following the Mountain Hawks in order are American (76, 3 first-place), Holy Cross (76), Navy (54), Bucknell (52), Army (50), Colgate (22) and Lafayette (21). Lehigh's Erica Prosser was chosen as the Preseason Player of the Year.
Rookie Trio
