WORCESTER, Mass. (3/6/10) -   Navy relied on sharp-shooting from the perimeter to defeat the Colgate women's basketball team, 69-57, in the Patriot League Quarterfinals Saturday evening at the Hart Center. Junior Krista Moser (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) recorded a double-double to lead the Raiders, registering 12 points while pulling down 10 boards.

 

Sophomore Tricia Oakes (Evergreen, Colo.) finished one rebound short of a double-double with 10 points and a game-high nine boards, while junior Sami Kozlowski (New Market, Md.) added 10 points and dished out five assists. Navy's Angela Myers led all scorers with 16 points, while Kristin Bowen added 15.

 

The Raiders jumped out to a five point lead to start off the game, earning a 6-1 advantage 2:30 into the first half. The Mids were able to tie the game at 6-6 a few minutes later after hitting their first of nine first half three-pointers, followed by a lay-up from leading scorer Myers. Navy took their first lead of the game at 14:40 after Myers drained a three, but the Raiders claimed the lead a minute later as Oakes laid in her first basket of the game.

 

The first half continued to be back-and-forth with the two teams trading the lead nine times and tying eight times. Navy earned their largest lead of the game with 11:51 on the clock after K.C. Gordon knocked down a three. Colgate's Jhazmine Lynch (San Diego, Calif.), and Patriot League Rookie of the Year, responded a long-range basket of her own to tie the game 17-17, but the Mids Jasmine Pitts drained yet another three to claim a 20-17 advantage.

 

Pitts sunk another three to give Navy a four-point lead, 33-29, with 1:07 left in the first half, but senior Katie Garman (Poplar Grove, Ill.) hit her first three of the game to bring the Raiders within one. A few seconds later Kozlowski went 2-2 from the free-throw line to give Colgate a 34-33 lead, but Bowen would close the half with a final three-pointer to make it a two-point game 36-34.

 

Colgate shot an outstanding season-high 52.2 percent (12-23) from the field in the opening half. Despite their nine three-pointers, the Mids shot just 42.9 percent (9-21) from behind the arc and 40.6 percent (13-32) from the floor.

 

Navy pushed their lead to five after opening the second half with another three, this time from Megan Matheny. The Raiders drained a three of their own on the other end to pull back within two, 39-37. The Mids then used three more baskets from behind the arc to pull out to an 11 point lead 53-42, with 13:18 left in the game. Both teams went cold over the next three minutes, combining for just five points.

 

The Mids then used an 11-2 run to jump out to their largest lead of the game, a 22 point lead, 68-46. Navy was able to fend off Colgate, holding them scoreless for just under four minutes of play. The Raiders were relentless however, using back-to-back baskets from Moser and Kozlowski to cut the lead to 16, 68-52, with 3:27 left on the clock. Colgate was able to hold the Mids to just one point in the closing 5:00 of the game, while going on an 11-1 run of their own. Lynch closed out the game in appropriate fashion with one final three-pointer in the last 11 seconds.

 

Colgate shot 41.2 percent (21-51) from the floor in the game, and were 10-15 (66.7 percent) from the free-throw line. The Mids went 24-57 (42.1 percent) from the field and finished with a league-high 15 three-pointers (15-33). The Raiders were successful in out-rebounding Navy, 34-31.

 

The Raiders finish the season 10-19 overall while Navy improves to 17-13 and will take on American in the semifinal game tomorrow afternoon.