Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Sizable differences in rebounding and free throws helped Army post a 62-45 decision over Colgate here Wednesday.

After starting the game with four straight free-throw misses – including two by sharpshooter Kelsey Minato – the Black Knights proceeded to make 33 of their final 39 attempts. Add in a career-high 30 points from Minato and a 46-32 edge on the boards, and it was a blueprint for Army victory.

"It was a choppy game, with no flow for either team," Raiders head coach Nicci Hays Fort said. "And it's hard for it to be an enjoyable game when it's so choppy like that.

"Army made it really difficult for us. Our spacing was very poor, we lacked urgency on cutting and moving in the offense, and they remembered last year. They didn't want that to happen again and they really got after us defensively to take us out of our offensive flow."

Last season at Christl Arena, the Raiders lost 51-48 in the regular season but then won 48-40 in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals. This one had the makings of yet another grinding nail-biter for the first 20 minutes.

Harris on a Roll
Colgate trailed only 32-28 at halftime despite 20 by that point from Minato. But the Raiders were countering with the 1-2 inside punch of Carole Harris and Josie Stockill.

Harris finished the game with 21 points on 10-of-18 shooting. The junior forward has scored 59 points her last three games and leads the Raiders in scoring average at 11.9. She's been even better inside the Patriot League (14.1).

"Carole's been doing some really good things for us," Hays Fort said. "She's worked really hard on improving her offensive game, and it's really starting to show."

Self-assurance is the key for Harris.

"I like to be confident," she said. "And when they're not dropping, the only thing that's going to make them go in is more confidence. I get that and, hopefully, my teammates feed off it."

Three for Across the Sea
Stockill, meanwhile, did most of her damage midway in the first when she scored seven in a 9-0 Raiders run that pushed Colgate in front 17-9 with 9:43 left. Included was her first collegiate 3-pointer, and no doubt the cheers could be heard from across the Pacific.

"Shout-out to my dad on that one," said Stockill, a sophomore from New Zealand. "He's always telling me to shoot threes, so I finally got him one. I was open and the defender's hands were down, so I gave it a try and it went in."

Stockill finished with 13 points. She also blocked two shots, upping her career total to 58 and moving her already into a tie for 11th in Colgate history.

"The guards were doing a really good job of getting the ball into us in the post, and we had really good movement and spacing during that run," she said. "Carole and I were able to go to the rim a lot."

Colgate was hanging tough – down just 37-34 with 14:31 remaining – when Minato scored consecutive baskets to spark a 12-0 run that made it 49-34 with 7:24 to play. The last four of those points were free throws as the Black Knights proceeded to convert 18 of 21 charity tosses in the second half.

Better Shooting – Except from the Line
The Raiders outshot their hosts from the floor, making 17 field goals to 14 and shooting nearly 33 percent to Army's 30 percent. Colgate finished 17-of-52 for 32.7 percent, was 3-of-13 from the arc and 8-of-14 from the line.

Colgate placed only five players in the scoring column. Behind Harris and Stockill, Randyll Butler finished with six points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Catherine Harris hit a 3-pointer and Missy Repoli added two points.

The Black Knights were 14-of-46 for 30.4 percent, 1-of-8 from the arc and the aforementioned 33-of-43 from the line. Colgate finished with six assists against 17 turnovers, while Army had three assists with 14 miscues – showing just how uneven the game's flow was for both teams. Bench scoring favored the Raiders by a 21-6 count.

Army, which held on to third place in the Patriot League at 5-2 and improved to 13-5 overall, received 10 points and 12 rebounds from Jen Hazlett. Minato had nine boards to go with her 30 points.

Next up for Colgate, now 5-13 overall and 1-6 in the Patriot League, is a Saturday afternoon clash with conference newcomer Loyola (4-14, 1-6). Start time is 4 p.m.

"They're all big," Hays Fort said. "We're too Jekyll and Hyde right now. BU wasn't a fluke. We're better than we played at Navy and we play better defense that we did tonight.

"It's good to be home again."