Photo Gallery

HAMILTON – Colgate's Paige Kriftcher poured in a career-high 14 points but it wasn't enough, as Cornell escaped with a 74-66 triumph here Wednesday night.
 
Kriftcher kept the Raiders within shouting distance in the first half. Cornell led from the outset and was on top 43-33 at intermission, but Kriftcher to that point had 12 to lead all first-half scorers.
 
She finished 6-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-4 from long distance. Her four assists also were a career best, and she added three rebounds. After two games, the junior guard is second on the team with an 11.5 scoring average.
 
Carole Harris picked up two quick fouls to start the game and was scoreless in the first half. But the senior rallied after the break, finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds. Missy Repoli added 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
 
Cornell was led by Megan LeDuc's 19 points.
 

Bottom Line
• Cornell 74, Colgate 66
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 0-2 this season.
• Cornell improves to 1-2.
 
Facts & Figures
• Free throws were the difference. Cornell finished 16-of-21 to Colgate's 4-of-7.
• Cornell shot 60 percent (18-of-30) from the floor in the first half and finished the game at 50 percent (27-of-54). Colgate shot 45.9 percent for the game on 28-of-61.
• Rebounds were almost even, with Cornell grabbing a 34-33 edge. The Big Red committed 17 turnovers to Colgate's 19, and both teams had eight steals.
• Cornell jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never trailed. The Big Red's largest leads were 12 in the first half and 11 in the second half.
• Colgate in the second half closed within three points (47-44) early and then two points twice (64-62 and 66-64) in the final five minutes. The Raiders had the ball with a chance to tie on both of the late occasions but couldn't convert.
 
Career Highs
• Paige Kriftcher posted career highs with 14 points and four assists. The Long Island junior stands second on the team with an 11.5 scoring average.

• Kriftcher and Missy Repoli share team honors with four 3-pointers made thus far this season.
• Repoli's career total of 119 3-pointers moves her alone into fifth place on the all-time Colgate chart. Mariah Jones is right behind with 118.
 
More Key Info
• Carole Harris matched Kriftcher's point total with 14, despite missing nearly all of the first half because of foul trouble.
• Repoli tallied 12 points and Josie Stockill nine. Jones and Randyll Butler added six points apiece, Katie Curtis bombed a 3-pointer and Steph Shultz scored two.
• Jones just missed a career high with seven rebounds. She also dished out six assists for the second straight game.
• Schultz played a career-high 21 minutes.
 
Turning Point
• Colgate trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and 11 in the second on two occasions.
• But the Raiders whittled the lead to just two points on two different occasions in the last five minutes.
• Colgate, however, couldn't convert on either chance and the Big Red iced the game with eight consecutive free throws in the final 52 seconds.
 
Sister Act II

• For the second straight game, a Colgate team member faced an older sibling on the opposing bench.
• Colgate sophomore Steph Poland was on the court in the first half against Cornell senior Sarah Poland. Neither Poland scored but they both grabbed an offensive rebound.
• The Polands, who are from the Cleveland suburb of Valley View, Ohio, had plenty of family members on hand.
• Saturday at Harvard, Katie Curtis faced off with Crimson senior Ali Curtis. The Indianapolis Star posted this pregame story on the Lebanon, Indiana, natives.
 
From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Nicci Hays Fort: (On the late-game opportunities) "It doesn't come down to one play. It's all of the other little things – all the turnovers, the missed defensive assignments.
"We defended so well against Harvard. Obviously we thought that would carry over, and it didn't. That wasn't the team that showed up tonight. That's on me to not take things for granted."
(On Harris' second half) "Carole's our best player for a reason – 14 and 8 in one half. She had 19 and 9 Saturday.
"She's great, and she needs to be smarter and she knows that. We've had these 1-on-1 conversations in my office, like if you get a foul in the first half you have to be smart about it. (The second foul) was an easy foul to call. We just need her on the floor."
(On Kriftcher's night) "Paige is a scorer and she did a great job tonight of not just settling for her 3-point shot. She really attacked, and she defended better too. That's what we need Paige to do.
"She's really embraced being able to come in and be a spark-plug for us off the bench."
• Colgate guard Paige Kriftcher: (On her game) "The posts were doing a great job attacking and kicking it out, so that opened up shots for me. And the other guards were attacking and drawing the defense – that also helped me get open."
(On her goals for this season) "I really just wanted to contribute as much as possible, whatever Coach wanted my role to be. I wanted to work on attacking more and getting open shots for my teammates. Whatever the team needed to win.
"We're working on our offense – this offense has constant movement – and that's helping me get my teammates open or attack the rim. I'm finding some open looks."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• A moment of silence was observed before Wednesday's game honoring Ernie Vandeweghe, who died Nov. 8 at age 86. Vandeweghe was a Mount Rushmore figure of Colgate Athletics and the school's first All-America basketball player. He played eight seasons in the NBA and then went on to a remarkable life in the American sporting landscape.
• Attendance for the home opener was 431.
• Cornell leads this Central New York rivalry 20-15, having won the last four.
 
Up Next
• Colgate opens a four-game road trip Saturday with a 2 p.m. tipoff at Drexel. The Dragons lost 59-43 Wednesday night at Princeton and are now 1-1 this season.

Game Archive