EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette's second half was just slightly better than Colgate's first half, and the Leopards escaped with a 58-56 Patriot League win here Wednesday night.
 
The Raiders led 42-19 at halftime, only to be outscored 39-14 over the final 20 minutes. Lafayette made four straight 3-pointers out of the second-half gate to jump-start its rally.
 
Colgate held the lead until inside the final two minutes, when Anna Ptasinski drained the sixth Leopard trey of the period for a 56-54 advantage with 1:37 remaining. Mariah Jones tied it with 53 seconds left, and Colgate nearly had a stop on the ensuing possession.
 
But with Lafayette in-bounding the ball under its basket and just three seconds showing on the shot-clock, Leopards guard Jamie O'Hare bounced the ball off a Colgate defender and quickly grabbed it for an uncontested layin.
 
Colgate had a chance in the final 23 seconds, but Randyll Butler's 3-point attempt with three seconds remaining bounced away and the game was lost.
 
Josie Stockill led the Raiders with 14 points, and Carole Harris added 10. O'Hare paced all scorers with 18.
 
The Raiders ended the first half of Patriot League play at 2-7, and are 3-17 overall. Four of those seven conference losses have been two-point defeats. Lafayette improved to 4-5 and 11-9.
 

Colgate hosts Bucknell this Saturday at 4 p.m. It's the annual Pink Breast Cancer Awareness/National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
 
Bottom Line
• Lafayette 58, Colgate 56
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 3-17 overall and 2-7 in the Patriot League.
• Lafayette improves to 11-9 and 4-5.
 
Near Flawless First-Half
• The worst sound of the night for Colgate was the scoreboard buzzer ending the first half.
• It was 42-19 Raiders at intermission.
• Colgate shot 51.5 percent (17-of-33) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
• Runs of 9-2 and 13-0 helped Colgate to its largest halftime lead of the season; previous best was 41-26 over Binghamton.
• This was Colgate's third time this season reaching 40 points by halftime. The other two were the Binghamton game and a 40-31 lead at Holy Cross.
• The Raiders had just one turnover in the opening 20 minutes, while Lafayette committed 10.
• Not surprisingly, points-off-turnovers were 13-0 Raiders.
 
Sudden Turnaround
• But Lafayette got back into the game by making four straight 3-pointers over the first 5½ minutes of the second half.
• That narrowed Colgate's lead to 48-33 with 14:34 remaining.
• Colgate at that point had begun an eight-minute scoreless drought. By the time Carole Harris connected with 7:01 remaining, the lead was down to 50-43.
• Lafayette completed its comeback when Anna Ptasinski connected on her third and final 3-pointer of the night that made it 56-54 Leopards with 1:37 remaining.
• Colgate tied it on a Mariah Jones jumper with 53 seconds left, but then Lafayette scored the game's final basket.
• Jamie O'Hare inbounded the ball to herself off a Raiders defender and laid it in with 23 seconds remaining for the final 58-56 margin.
• The Leopards were 6-of-9 from three in the second half, and shot 51.7 percent overall in the second half. Colgate was just 7-of-28 from the field after the break.
• Second-half rebounds were 22-14 in Lafayette's favor, and Colgate committed eight second-half turnovers after making just one in the first half.
 
More Key Info

• Josie Stockill led the Raiders in scoring with 14 points. Harris added 10, Randyll Butler 9, Missy Repoli 8, Paige Kriftcher 8 and Jones 7.
• Colgate shot 39.3 percent (24-of-61) from the floor and was 3-of-12 from 3-point distance. All three made threes came in the first half.
• The Raiders were 5-of-9 from the free-throw line – all in the first half.
• Lafayette finished at 41.8 percent (23-of-55) from the field and 8-of-18 from three. The Leopards were 4-of-7 at the line.
• Colgate had eight assists and nine turnovers; Lafayette had 11 and 16.
• Harris came up with three of Colgate's six steals.
• Repoli played in her 100th collegiate game and was 2-of-3 on 3-pointers to reach the 150-mark for her career. She needs nine more to tie for second on the all-time Colgate chart.
• Lafayette's O'Hare led all scorers with 18 points.
 
Turning Point
• It might have been the opening possession of the second half.
• Colgate had the ball leading 42-19 and ran a sweet play for Stockill, who had outplayed Lafayette's Emily Homan in the first half.
• But Stockill's layup fell just off the rim and Lafayette's Maddie Peabody nailed a 3-pointer at the other end.
• It was a five-point swing and the turnaround had begun.
 
Tough Losses
• Colgate is 2-7 in the Patriot League with four two-point losses.
• Nine of Colgate's 17 setbacks overall are by eight points or less.
 
From the Source
• Colgate head coach Nicci Hays Fort: (On the game) "What can I say? We just have to bounce back from this one. We have to rebound better at the end of the game."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Kirby Sports Center was 248.
• Mel Greenburg was in attendance Wednesday night. The women's basketball guru and longtime Philadelphia Inquirer sport writer was elected to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
• Greenburg is perhaps best known for starting the first women's basketball national top-25 poll, but he's a walking encyclopedia of all things women's hoops.
 
Up Next
• Colgate is home Saturday for a 4 p.m. matchup against Bucknell.
• The Bison won the first meeting 77-75 in overtime back on Jan. 3.
• Bucknell enters at 13-7 overall and 5-4 in the Patriot League after losing 76-61 Wednesday night at Lehigh.
• It's Colgate's annual Pink Breast Cancer Awareness/National Girls and Women in Sports Day. All kids and fans who wear pink get free admission to the game.