Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Colgate keeps playing them close, but the Raiders have yet to break through in the Patriot League victory column. Wednesday's result: Army 51, Colgate 48.

That makes four conference tries and four losses, all by single digits. But three of those defeats have come on the road and head coach Nicci Hays Fort remains optimistic her Raiders can turn it around.

“Army is the best team in the league and it's a one-possession game, so that's positive,” Hays Fort said. “We really did compete and battle in a good environment. They had 800 to a thousand cadets who were into the game, which makes it a fun atmosphere.

“But I thought we responded really well. We just need to knock down a few more shots.”

The cadets saw Kelsey Minato pace the home side with 22 points, lifting the Black Knights to 4-0 and alone atop the Patriot League standings. Army improved to 15-4 overall, while Colgate is now 6-12.

J's Come to Play
Josie Stockill and Jhazmine Lynch scored 13 points apiece for Colgate. The freshman Stockill had 11 at halftime and was a force defensively throughout, finishing with a season-high five blocked shots. Lynch scored Colgate's first nine points after the break, and the senior nearly won it for the Raiders with a driving layup attempt at the end.

“We started Jhaz tonight and she's been playing with a lot of energy, a lot of focus,” Hays Fort said. “We knew she could come out and score and capitalize.

“And Josie was very active tonight. We've been prepping Josie the last couple of days about how tough and physical they were going to be, and she responded very well.”

Army's Aimee Oertner finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. She opened the game with the Black Knights' first six points to help Army grab a 9-5 edge. Colgate then put together a 9-2 run to open its largest lead at 19-15 with 8:59 showing. Stockill had a pair of buckets during this stretch, with Paige Kriftcher added a three and Carole Harris a free-throw line jumper.

But Minato started banging the threes – she had four for the game – to flip Army back in front, and the Knights led 28-26 at intermission. Minato scored 13 of her 22 in the first half.

The opening 20 minutes were extremely well-played, with two ties and four lead changes. Colgate wasn't whistled for its first foul until 6:45 showed on the first-half clock.

Nine Straight to Start
Lynch came alive to start the second, scoring Colgate's first nine points. Included was a mid-range jumper that handed the Raiders their final lead of the game, 33-32, with 16:30 remaining.

Army then put together its own 9-2 spurt and bolted to the game's largest advantage at 41-35 with 12:45 left. Still, Colgate kept it close, and when Stockill put home a layup it was 41-39 with 11:19 to play.

Points then slowed to a premium. Colgate scored only seven – all by Catherine Lewis – from Stockill's basket to a Lewis layup with 1:32 to play. Army went without a point for five complete minutes, from 6:19 to 1:19.

That's when Minato finally broke the Black Knights' drought and hit a pair of free throws to make it 49-46. But Mariah Jones bottomed a baseline jumper with 1:02 left, and Stockill swatted away an Army layup attempt on the other end to hand Colgate the ball with 26 seconds to play, down 49-48.

“We wanted to run a play where Jhazmine has the option to go to the basket if she has a lane,” Hays Fort said. “We got a good shot, a good shot.”

Two Good Looks
Lynch drove to the hoop but her short jumper was blocked by Oertner, with the ball deflecting to Army. The Raiders fouled immediately, and Olivia Schretzman made both ends of a 1-and-1 with 14 seconds left to push Army's lead to 51-48.

Colgate's last gasp was an excellent look at the tying 3-point attempt by Lynch, only to have it hit the front rim and carom away as the buzzer sounded.

“We got a good look at a three but just didn't knock it down,” Hays Fort said. “We made key stops all night but we've got to knock down shots.

“It was a good game, and we played really well defensively. We've just got to execute on the offensive end.”

The Raiders were hindered down the stretch when forward Kelly Reid reinjured her ankle with 6:42 to play. Reid missed the season's first two games with a high ankle sprain of the same left foot. The sophomore has been filling the inside position vacated when center Lulu Brase was lost for the year before the start of Patriot League play.

“It's going to be day-to-day,” Hays Fort said of Reid, who scored four points and had four rebounds. “You just never know.”

More Solid Bench Play
Colgate shot 32 percent from the floor, 19-of-59, including a 4-of-23 night from 3-point distance. The Raiders made 6-of-7 free throw attempts. Army shot 36 percent, 20-of-56, and was 4-of-15 from long range. The Black Knights made 7-of-8 from the line and won the rebound battle, 40-36. Army committed 12 turnovers to Colgate's 10.

Colgate finished with an 18-0 edge in bench points, as Army's starters accounted for all 51 points. For the season, Colgate's bench players are outscoring their counterpart subsitutes 451-242, or an average of 11.7.

Lynch reached double figures in points for the seventh straight game and, in the process, moved into 14th place on Colgate's all-time scoring list. The San Diego senior now has 1,071 points in 100 career games played. Wednesday night, she passed Sarah Parks (1,063 points from 1998-2002) and Sami Kozlowski (1,066 from 2007-11).

Colgate's next game is Saturday against Navy. Tipoff from Cotterell Court is 4 p.m.