LEWISBURG, Pa. – The perfect play-call nearly produced the perfect result.
 
But Paige Kriftcher's layup attempt in the last breath of overtime somehow fell off the rim instead of through the hoop, and Bucknell escaped with a 77-75 victory over Colgate here Saturday afternoon.
 
No, Kriftcher's basket wouldn't have won it for the Raiders. But Colgate would have soared into the second extra session riding all the momentum in a game that swung violently back and forth over the final 11½ minutes.
 
There were nine lead changes and five ties, but all of those except an early 4-4 knot occurred in the last 6:28 of regulation plus overtime.
 
In the second half alone, Colgate led by as many as 11 points and Bucknell by as many as eight before the teams settled for a 69-69 deadlock through 40 minutes.
 
There were five lead changes in overtime, and then Bucknell worked its way to a 77-74 advantage with 1:05 showing. Mariah Jones made one of two free throws with 48 seconds remaining to make it 77-75, and then Colgate drew one last chance when Bucknell's Carly Richardson missed both ends of a two-shot opportunity with eight seconds to play.
 
The Raiders advanced the ball quickly and it wound up out of bounds under the Colgate basket with exactly one second to play.
 

Jones inbounded the ball perfectly to Kriftcher, who had broken free in the lane. Her layup looked true but instead it trickled off the front iron as the buzzer sounded.
 
Josie Stockill led the Raiders (1-12, 0-2 Patriot) with 18 points and 11 rebounds, posting her second double-double of the season and matching career-highs in both categories. Jones added a season-high 15 points and Kriftcher reached her career-high of 14 after making her starting debut.
 
Bucknell (9-4, 1-1) was led by Audrey Dotson's 27 points and Claire DeBoer's 20.
 
Colgate is back in action Wednesday at Holy Cross in a 7 p.m. start.
 
Bottom Line
• Bucknell 77, Colgate 75 (ot)
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate drops to 1-12 overall and 0-2 in the Patriot League.
• Bucknell improves to 9-4 and 1-1.
 
Final Play
• Colgate trailed 77-75 in overtime but had the ball under its own basketball with one second on the clock.
• During a timeout, Colgate head coach Nicci Hays Fort drew up a play that would free either Josie Stockill or Paige Kriftcher for a potential game-tying shot.
• The play worked to perfection as Mariah Jones found Kriftcher under the hoop.
• Kriftcher layed it up but her attempt was just a little too strong as it trickled off the front rim to the sound of the final horn.
 
Facts & Figures

• Colgate won the rebounding tally for the fourth time this season, 50-41. And the Raiders' 24 offensive rebounds were a season high.
• Stockill was the team leader with 11 total, and freshman Julia Barcello added a season-high seven. Barcello played the last six minutes of the first half and posted six key rebounds during that stretch.
• Rebounding kept the Raiders in the game during overtime.
• Bucknell hit 4-of-5 from the field in the extra session to Colgate's 2-of-11, but the Raiders kept giving themselves second chances.
• Both teams made 27 field goals, with Colgate taking six more attempts. Bucknell shot 40.9 percent to Colgate's 37.5. The Raiders were 6-of-19 from 3-point distance, while Bucknell was just 5-of-27.
• But free throws favored the Bison just enough, at least in the point column. The hosts were 18-of-30 to Colgate's 15-of-21.
• The Raiders had five assists on their first seven baskets, but ended the game with just 10 assists on 27 made field goals.
• The Colgate scoring went as follows: Stockill 18, Jones 15, Kriftcher 14, Carole Harris nine (played just 15 minutes because of foul trouble and eventually fouled out with 27 seconds left in regulation), Missy Repoli seven, Ariel Etheridge four, Steph Schultz four, Tori Pozsonyi two, Barcello one and Randyll Butler one.
• Bucknell was led in scoring by Audrey Dotson with 27 (also 10 boards) and Claire DeBoer with 20. Both Bison stalwarts had just seven points at halftime.
 
More Key Info
• Colgate led for 19:21 of the first half, and the game was tied 4-4 the remaining 39 seconds.
• The largest Raider lead of the first half was 10 (28-18 and 30-20). The score at the break was 33-26, Colgate.
• After Bucknell pulled within three points early in the second half, Colgate regained control at 44-33 on a Jones jumper with 13:39 remaining.
• But Bucknell scored eight straight and eventually pulled in front for the first time at 53-52 on Dotson's layup with 6:28 to go.
• The Bison expanded that lead to as much as 62-54 when Claire Marie O'Bryan nailed a 3-pointer with 4:04 showing. Bucknell's run to that point was 29-10 over a 9:35 stretch.
• Colgate then answered with a 9-1 run of its own to draw level at 63 on a Kriftcher jumper in the paint.

• The Raiders went up by as many as three, 68-65 with 41 seconds left, before Bucknell responded again down the stretch. DeBoer's layup with four seconds left sent the game into overtime.
• Bucknell's alternate-possession arrow might need new batteries after getting a workout Saturday afternoon. There were 11 held balls in this game, including seven in the first half.
 
Stockill Soaring
• Stockill turned in her second double-double of the season with an 18-point, 11-rebound performance.
• The junior forward matched career-highs in both categories despite playing just 32 of the game's 45 minutes because of foul trouble.
• Stockill was 6-of-12 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 at the line.
• She also added four blocked shots, giving her 27 for the season and 95 for her career and vaulting her into third on the all-time Colgate chart.
• The New Zealander leads the team in scoring at 12.2 and is second to Harris in rebounding at 6.5.
 
Kriftcher Gets the Nod
• Kriftcher drew her first career starting assignment and responded by tying her career scoring high with 14 points.
• The junior guard also matched her career-best with three made 3-pointers out of four attempts.
• For the season, Kriftcher is tied for second on the team with 13 made 3-pointers. She leads the squad in accuracy from that distance at 39.4 percent (13-of-33).
 
Turning Point
• Hard to pinpoint with so many lead changes down the stretch.
• How about Kriftcher's last-second layup falling just off the iron? That's the only way anyone knew who was going to win this one.
 
From the Sources

• Colgate head coach Nicci Hays Fort: (On the last play) "It's an out-of-bounds play we have with just a different read. We needed something where we could get a good shot. We could have done a couple of other things, but I was afraid if we didn't catch it cleanly, we wouldn't get a good shot.
"We had three options off that out-of-bounds play and we were able to get our second one."
(On the second-half rally) "They got up eight on us and we didn't quit. We had some really good defensive stops and battled for some rebounds.
"We could have folded, and maybe three or four weeks ago we would have folded. But this team is playing with a little bit more moxie and heart, and I'm proud of the way we stuck in there to tie the game back up."
(On today's rebounding success) "They got some tough ones on us that ended up being fouls against some key people, but that's a really tough rebounding team. We knew Bucknell was going to make it dicey down low, so we had to have all of our players involved in the rebounding battle.
"We challenged our players and we had 24 offensive boards, which is a high for the year."
(On the team contributions) "We had a lot of good energy from the entire team and I was happy with everyone's contributions.
"Julia got her high in rebounds with seven, Ariel came in and gave us some positive things, and Paige had her first start. Not only did Paige hit some big threes in the first half, but she played really great defense after we had challenged her to do just that."
• Colgate junior forward Josie Stockill: (On her game) "We were really trying to crash (the boards) because they were crashing really hard. Coach talked about them being violent rebounders, so we were trying to match their physicality on the glass. We did well there."
(On being close to a win) "So close. We played really well for the whole game. Just a couple of other things could have gone our way, like we could have gotten a few more boards."
• Colgate junior guard Paige Kriftcher: (On the last play) "Josie was on one block and I was opposite from ball, and we were supposed to fake going back and come to the ball. Mariah hit me with a perfect pass and I blew it. I don't know (how it didn't go in); I don't know."

(On her first start) "I felt good out there. My teammates did a good job finding me and setting me up for shots. I just wanted to focus on pressuring on defense because I knew that would get the game going in our favor."
(On being so close to a win) "I definitely thought we were going to win this one. Next game, we have to win. I don't know how we won't win."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Sojka Pavilion was 358.
 
Up Next
• Colgate stays on the road for its next Patriot League game, visiting Holy Cross this Wedneday. The Crusaders are 5-10 overall and 1-1 in the Patriot League after falling 74-63 at home Saturday to American. Tipoff from Worcester is 7 p.m.