Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. – Colgate's first venture this season into the world of top-25 basketball was straight out of the school of hard knocks.

The Raiders shot just 21 percent from the floor, committed 26 turnovers and lost 81-31 to No. 24-ranked Gonzaga in front of 5,220 here Saturday afternoon.

"Gonzaga is really, really good," Colgate head coach Nicci Hays Fort said. "There's a reason they are 24th in the country.

"Their length did disrupt us a lot. We were not very crisp and sharp, and when that happens length can make an even bigger difference. More than anything, their length made us rush our shots. We could never get comfortable on offense."

Colgate's first field goal of the game didn't drop until Carole Harris trimmed the Bulldogs' lead to 10-4 with 10:25 left in the half. Harris added two more over the next couple of minutes en route to team highs of six points by the half and nine for the game.

Defense Making Stops
Despite Colgate's struggles on offense, the Raiders were holding their own on the defensive end.

"Our defense in the first half was really good," Hays Fort said. "We wanted to focus on their high-lows and on No. 3, Haiden Palmer, and we did a tremendous job in the first half. But we couldn't get anything going offensively."

Turnovers were an issue all afternoon against the talented Bulldogs. The Raiders committed 18 of their 26 turnovers by the break, while forcing 18 total Gonzaga miscues.

"When there's length you have to combat it with strength, and that's what we tried to do," Harris said. "We tried to box out and get on the inside. That was all we could do."

Colgate trailed 32-13 at intermission and fell behind 49-16 by the 14:54 mark of the second half.

9-2 Run Lifts Hopes
That's when the Raiders put together their best basketball of the day. Josie Stockill started the streak by making three of four free throws. Kelly Reid (pictured right) added a layup and Lauryn Kobiela a jumper and suddenly Colgate had scored seven straight.

After a Gonzaga basket, Kobiela connected again with 11:46 showing and the Raiders had narrowed the margin to 51-25 on a 9-2 run.

Hays Fort said rebounding was the key to Colgate's sudden uptick in fortunes.

"Kelly Reid got some really tough rebounds for us during that stretch and we were able to get some run-outs, which is good for our game," Hays Fort said.

Gonzaga, however, proceeded to score the next 20 points and end all hopes of a second-half surge. Catherine Lewis hit a mid-range runner and Colgate stopped the Bulldogs' flurry at 71-27 with 4:33 to play.

Randyll Butler connected on a free throw and then Harris finished the Colgate scoring with three points over the final couple of minutes as Colgate dropped to 1-5 this season.

Lindsay Sherbert scored a game-high 22 points to lead three Bulldogs (4-1) in double figures as Gonzaga shot 59 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Colgate made just 11 of 52 (21.2 percent) field goal tries and missed all 12 attempts from 3-point distance.

"To start the second half, Gonzaga just executed so well," Hays Fort said. "Lindsay Sherbert is a transfer from Cal who started their first game this season. She's a really good player and one of those tough matchups.

"We had a couple of mental lapses, but most of it had to do with Gonzaga being really good, executing and making sure they got great shots."

Reid Grabs 9 Boards
Reid's nine rebounds led the Raiders and missed by one of earning game honors. She added four points, while Kobiela finished with six and Stockill five to go with six boards. Gonzaga owned a 45-32 rebounding edge.

Colgate's only home game in December takes place Wednesday night when the Raiders host Drexel in a 7 p.m. tip at Cotterell Court. Colgate is in the middle of a difficult stretch of six out of seven away from home.

"That's going to be a tough game," Hays Fort said. "We've got to be really mentally tough these next couple of weeks. Our academics are coming to an end and we have a lot of projects, tests and papers due.

"Drexel is good and executes really well. They won the WNIT last year and played Maryland to a six-point game last week. We've got to regroup on the offensive end and get back to what made us so good early in the season."

Harris says the tough lessons like Saturday against ranked opponents pay off later in the season.

"If we can score against Gonzaga, a top-25 team, then we can score in the Patriot League," Harris said. "It's going to propel us for the rest of this preseason and into the conference schedule."