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HAMILTON – Twice Josie Stockill gave Colgate the lead in the last 1:11 here Sunday, capping an improbable comeback from 14 points down. And both times Kent State had an answer.
 
The final blow was a free-throw line jumper from Melanee Stubbs with 1.2 seconds remaining to hand Kent State a 62-61 heart-wrenching win over Colgate on Cotterell Court.
 
The Raiders (1-9) had rallied with 13 consecutive points over a 5:25 stretch to turn a seemingly impossible-to-overcome 58-46 deficit into a 59-58 lead.
 
Mariah Jones lobbed into Stockill and the New Zealand junior ripped it away from her defender to lay it home for Colgate's first lead, 59-58, since the 4:42 mark of the first half. Then after Kent State's Larissa Lurken snapped the Golden Flashes' skid with a jump shot, Stockill grabbed an offensive board and was fouled.
 
She calmly sank both charity tosses and Colgate led again, 61-60, with 15 seconds remaining.
 
But Stubbs worked her way free just above the free-throw line and swished home the final two of her 12 points to lift Kent State (2-8) of the Mid-American Conference to its second victory of the season. Lurken scored 14 points for the winners and Krista White added 10.
 
Stockill led all scorers with a career-high 18, and every point came in the second half. The performances by Stockill and Colgate were even more remarkable due to the fact that Carole Harris was on the sideline for the final 20 minutes after suffering an ankle injury just before halftime.
 
Randyll Butler scored 16 points to go with nine rebounds, and Missy Repoli added a season-high 13 points for Colgate.
 
The Raiders play again Sunday at Siena in a 4 p.m. start.
 

Bottom Line
• Kent State 62, Colgate 61
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 1-9.
• Kent State bumps to 2-8.
 
Facts & Figures
• Colgate rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit, twice taking a one-point lead in the final 71 seconds on the strength of a 13-0/15-2 run. Josie Stockill made a terrific catch and layup with 1:11 left, and then she calmly sank two free throws with 15 seconds to play to give Colgate those leads.
• But Kent State jumpers from Larissa Lurken and then Melanee Stubbs in the final 32 seconds were enough for the one-point visitors' win. Stubbs hit hers from the foul line with just 1.2 ticks remaining.
• Despite missing six straight field-goal attempts during that 5:25 scoreless stretch, Kent State still shot 50 percent (25-of-50) from the floor for the game. Colgate finished at 38.9 percent (21-of-54).
• Kent State was 3-of-6 from 3-point range, and Colgate was 2-of-13.
• Three Kent State players fouled out in the final 2:55, and that helped Colgate to an eight-point advantage at the free-throw line. The Raiders finished 17-of-21 to Kent State's 9-of-14.
• Rebounds went Kent State's way by a 34-28 count. KSU's Montia Johnson had 10 to lead both teams, and Colgate was paced by Randyll Butler with a season-high nine for the fourth time this year.
• Butler now leads the team in rebounding at 6.9.
• Stockill led all scorers with 18 points – all in the second half. She was Colgate's best option inside after Carole Harris went down with an ankle injury with 1:07 left before halftime.
• Other scoring for Colgate saw Butler with 16, Missy Repoli with a season-high 13, Mariah Jones with six, Harris four, and two apiece from Kateri Stone and Ariel Etheridge.
• Repoli came away with a career-high four of Colgate's eight team steals. Jones had seven assists and Butler four out of Colgate's 15 team helpers.

• Jones entered the weekend second in the Patriot League and 50th nationally at 4.9 assists. She now has 51 for the season and 240 for her career, leaving her 31 shy of reaching the Colgate all-time top 10.
• There were four ties in the game and seven lead changes. Colgate's largest lead was six in the first half.
 
Steady Stockill
• Stockill's 18 second-half points pushed her into the team scoring lead at 12.0.
• It was her fifth straight game scoring in double-figures and her seventh game overall with 10 or more points, which also leads the squad.
• Stockill blocked three shots to give her 19 for the season and 87 for her career. She's now sixth all-time on the Colgate chart and closing fast on the top-five.
• Sunday she passed Lorelei Grosskurth (1983-85), who had 85 career blocks. Next within range are No. 6 Tricia Oakes (2009-12) with 88 and No. 5 Katie Weigert (1987-90) with 89.
• Stockill entered the game third in the Patriot League and 78th nationally at 1.8.
 
Runs, Runs, Runs
• This one was a game of scoring streaks.
• Kent State put together two separate 7-0 runs in the first half en route to a 31-25 advantage at the break.
• The Golden Flashes then sparked an 8-0 spurt in the second half to boost their lead to 43-33 with 13:40 remaining.
• Colgate fought back and fashioned its own 13-point run, holding the visitors scoreless for 5:25 to take a 59-58 lead on a layup by Stockill with 1:11 showing.
 
Turning Point
• Kent State had gone scoreless for 5:25 late in the game, relinquishing a 58-46 lead during a 13-0 Colgate run.
• But Lurken scored the last two of her team-high 14 points on a jumper with 32 seconds left. And after Stockill buried two free throws with 15 seconds to play to push Colgate back in front, Kent State's Stubbs calmly dropped in a free-throw line jumper for the winning basket with 1.2 seconds remaining.
 
From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Nicci Hays Fort: (On the last play) "It didn't come down to that last possession. We did defend it well; Kateri (Stone) did a great job. Getting down 14 because we were throwing the ball away – that's what cost us the game."
(On the comeback) "We put in four guards and switched up the defenses."
(On Josie Stockill) "We challenged our post players that someone needed to step up and rebound and score. Josie really accepted the challenge. We need to get a couple of more rebounds out of her, but she did a great job of attacking the basket and finishing."
(On Carole Harris going out) "It's tough when one of your senior starters goes out, but the rest of them kind of rallied a little bit. Randyll, Mariah and Missy really stepped up and said we all have to rebound and score. I was really proud of them."
• Colgate forward Josie Stockill: (On her second half) "I knew I really had to step up and fill the spot Carole had. She was doing really well, so I had to pick it up for the team."
(On the 13-0 run) "We picked up our defense, pressured them on defense, and got them out of their comfort zone. Kateri did really well and played really great defense."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Cotterell Court was 366.
 
Up Next
• Colgate returns to action Sunday at Siena. The Saints are 5-4 after a 62-53 win Friday at Binghamton. The game is taking place at the Times Union Center in Albany as part of a men's-and-women's doubleheader. The Siena-Bucknell men begin at 2 p.m., with Colgate-Siena women to follow.

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