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HAMILTON – Plain and simple, Nicci Hays Fort's basketball team is officially in a slump.

Colgate lost its fifth straight game to begin the Patriot League season, this one a 59-43 decision to Navy here Saturday that ended the Raiders' string of four single-digit losses.

And Hays Fort said it's just like a hitter who has lost her swing, or a golfer who can't find the fairway.

“Totally. Yeah,” she said. “I don't think this is an 0-5 team. I don't know what's going on. But we've got to figure it out and it's up to me to figure it out.

“We've got to win a game.”

The Raiders suffered another sub-par shooting afternoon, finishing at 23 percent from the field by making just 12 of 52 attempts. It was a season-low by nearly three percentage points, but it also continued a trend that is the key reason Colgate dropped its sixth game in a row overall.

Here are the field-goal percentage numbers during the slide: Charlotte, 26.0 percent; American, 27.6; Bucknell 26.6; Lehigh, 38.2; Army, 32.2; and Saturday's 23.1 percent against Navy.

“It's the whole team,” Hays Fort said. “I keep telling them I have confidence. I let them take any open shot. I don't take them out if they miss open shots. To me, that's giving them confidence.

“So we talked about it. I said, 'Guys, I have the confidence in you. I know we're a good team. I know you're good players.' But we've got to be able to take care of little things all the time.”

Second-Year Help
Sophomores Missy Repoli and Kelly Reid were bright spots for the Raiders.

Repoli broke out of her shooting slump to lead Colgate with 15 points. The 3-point specialist entered Saturday's action three for her previous 33 from long distance, but made 3-of-4 against Navy. The Raiders trailed only 12-11 after Repoli connected on her third straight from downtown to begin the game.

Yet Navy proceeded to end the first period on a 19-4 run and post a 31-15 halftime advantage.

“It was a matter of time for her; very good to see her break out of her slump,” Hays Fort said of Repoli. “And when they took away her 3-point shot she started attacking, which is what we need her to do. She went to the line – had six free throws, which is huge.”

And Reid played as if Wednesday night's reinjuring of her high ankle sprain was simply part of her weekly routine. The captain finished with six points and a game-high 10 rebounds, her third double-digit board effort in the last five games.

“I've been having trouble with my high-ankle sprain all season, but Heather (Corey, assistant athletic trainer) has been great and we had a monster tape-job on it,” Reid said. “The ankle hurts, but losing hurts more. I wanted that win but, unfortunately, we weren't able to pull it out.

“But I have confidence in this team that we're going to be able to turn this around before the end of this season.”

It was Colgate's second-lowest point total for a half this year, after the 21-9 deficit the Raiders faced against Drexel back on Nov. 24.

Colgate dropped to 6-13 overall and 0-5 in the Patriot League. Earlier this month, a record victory over NJIT had the Raiders on the brink of Mount .500.

“Last night, I watched our Saint Francis win and our NJIT win and our Columbia win and our Robert Morris win and New Hampshire win,” Hays Fort said. “I watched those games and thought, 'Man, where is this?' Losing Lulu (Brase) hurts, but Lulu didn't play much in the Robert Morris game because it was a bad mismatch problem.

“This is all on me right now. I've got to figure out what is going to make this team have confidence in themselves and put together some wins.”

Fight to the Finish
Colgate played its best stretch over the final 10 minutes, slicing a 22-point deficit to 14 before settling for the final margin. The Raiders played even with the Mids over the second half, 28-28, but never could get closer than the two-touchdown deficit.

Reid and Hays Fort both called it little consolation for what is a 40-minute game.

“It's like Coach said: You have to look in the mirror and say, 'What can I do to improve what we're doing?'” Reid said. “The team is going to recommit to the core 10 principles of our program that Coach has ingrained in our minds.

“We need to get back to that if we're going to get back to playing like we did against Saint Francis and Columbia and New Hampshire.”

The Mids, now 11-9 overall, placed three in double figures led by conference preseason player of the year Jade Geif's 17. Alix Membreno added 11 and Chloe Stapleton 10 for Navy, which pulled into a four-way tie atop the Patriot League at 4-1.

For Colgate, Josie Stockill scored six and Paige Kriftcher four.

Colgate's next game is Wednesday against Lafayette (8-12, 1-4) in a contest being televised by Time Warner Cable Sports. Tipoff from Cotterell Court is 7 p.m.

Hays Fort said the staff remains committed. She still believe the team's best basketball is ahead.

“Who are we? That's what I wrote on the board,” Hays Fort said. “Who are we? Who do we want to be? We've got to figure it out, and we've got till Monday morning at 8 o'clock to decide.”