WORCESTER, Mass. – It's 27-and-0 no mo!
 
Colgate dumped its winless record at Holy Cross into the waste bin of history here Wednesday, leading wire-to-wire for a 76-71 triumph at the Hart Center.
 
The Raiders put an early touchdown (7-0) on the board and never looked back – although there were tense moments down the stretch. Holy Cross pulled within three points in the final minute after trailing Colgate by as many as 11 points in the first half and 10 in the second.
 
But that's to be expected when a budding program is trying to win for the first time ever on an opponent's home floor. The Raiders are now 1-27 all-time at Holy Cross and 5-49 overall against the Crusaders.
 
Colgate (2-12, 1-2 Patriot) placed four scorers in double-figures for the first time this year, and also came away with a season-high 12 steals for the perfect balance of offense and defense.
 
Randyll Butler scored 10 of her 16 points in the second half, while Missy Repoli added 15, Paige Kriftcher 12 and Josie Stockill 10. Carole Harris scored eight first-half points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Holy Cross (5-11, 1-2) was led by Lisa Mifsud's game-high 22 points.
 
The Raiders are home Saturday against American in a 4 p.m. start.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 76, Holy Cross 71
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate jumps to 2-12 overall and 1-2 in the Patriot League.
• Holy Cross drops to 5-11 and 1-2.
 
Start to Finish
• Best way to win a game? Never trail.
• Colgate scored the game's first seven points as Carole Harris hit a pair of jumpers and Missy Repoli a 3-pointer. Another Repoli bomb and it was already 10-3 inside the first two minutes and change.
• Holy Cross pulled within one point on three separate occasions in the first half but never could draw level.
• Katie Curtis buried a three just off the bench and Colgate was on top 38-27 for its largest lead. The Raiders led 40-31 at intermission.
• Colgate three times pushed the advantage back to 10 in the second half, the last coming at 53-43 with 13:33 left.
• But Holy Cross saved one final charge for the end. Trailing 74-66 with less than 90 second left, Kate Gillespie hit a 3-pointer with 1:10 showing and then Lisa Mifsud had a chance at a conventional 3-point play with still 49 seconds left.
• Mifsud missed her free-throw try, however, and Colgate's Randyll Butler came up with not only that rebound but also a huge one 30 seconds later on the offensive glass.
• Butler found Mariah Jones, who was fouled and converted both free throws to ice it with 16 seconds to play.
 
Facts & Figures
• Butler was all over the stat sheet.
• Not only did the junior guard lead Colgate in scoring with 16 points, but she added six boards, three assists and a career-high five steals.
• Ten of her points came in the second half, including a 6-of-10 effort at the free-throw line.
• The remainder of Colgate's scoring went like this: Missy Repoli 15, Paige Kriftcher 12, Josie Stockill 10, Carole Harris 8, Mariah Jones 8, Steph Schultz 4 and Katie Curtis 3.
• Colgate placed four scorers in double-figures for the first time this season.
• And the 76 points scored was a season-high, topping Saturday's 75-point effort at Bucknell.
• Repoli in three career games at the Hart Center is averaging 19.0.
• Harris was held scoreless in the second half but led the Raiders with 10 rebounds – her fourth game with exactly 10 boards this season.
• Kriftcher has scored in double-figures the last three games. She's second on the team in scoring average durin Patriot League games at 12.7.
• Overall, she's averaging a career-best 6.2 thanks in no small part to some deadeye shooting from downtown.
• The Long Island junior guard was 2-of-2 Wednesday night and is 7-of-8 from 3-point distance since conference play began. She's 15-of-35 for the season beyond the arc, good for 42.9 percent and top-five in the Patriot League.
 
More Key Info
• Colgate just missed its best shooting night of the season, finishing 27-of-59 for 45.8 percent. The season-high of 45.9 percent came Nov. 19 against Cornell.
• The Raiders shot exactly 50 percent from the floor in the first half and exactly 40 percent in the second half.
• Holy Cross finished at 46.3 percent on 25-of-54.
• Three-point shooting was a wash, with Colgate 7-of-14 and the Crusaders 7-of-15.
• The Raiders had a slight free-throw edge, finishing 15-of-21 to Holy Cross' 14-of-24. Colgate made 13-of-19 in the second half.
• Colgate also won the rebound column, 39-30, although the Raiders did turn it over one more time for a 23-22 result.
• Colgate twice this season has scored 40 or more points in the first half, and the Raiders have won both times. Colgate led Binghamton 41-26 at the break en route to a 74-55 victory Dec. 10, and the Raiders led Holy Cross 40-31 here Wednesday.
 
Turning Point
• Back-to-back turnovers nearly had Colgate headed for its second consecutive overtime. Or worse.
• Holy Cross had scored five straight points to pull within 74-71 with 49 seconds left. And the Crusaders were shooting a free throw.
• But Mifsud, who led all scorers with 22 points, clanked the charity toss and Butler grabbed the rebound.
• There was no need for Holy Cross to foul with the lead only three, so the Crusaders played straight up defense and forced a 3-point attempt by Jones.
• It missed, but Butler was on the spot once again for the biggest rebound of the game. She handed back to Jones, who was fouled with 16 seconds left.
• Jones swished both ends of a two-shotter and that was that. History was made.
 
From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Nicci Hays Fort: (On her thoughts at game's end) "I was just so happy for the team. We were so close Saturday and we've been so close so many times. We feel like we're so much better than our record, so I'm just happy for them."
(On Saturday laying the groundwork for tonight) "It gave us confidence that we can play with, compete with and beat good teams. The conference season is a new season, and we're trying to take advantage of it."
(On what has turned the team around) "The start of conference play. We played a really tough non-conference schedule and played some top-25 teams really tough. It's just confidence."
(On tonight's balance) "We had four kids in double-digits and two others with eight. We had a lot of positive contributions from a lot of people, and that made for a good offensive-defensive balance."
(On tonight's milestone victory) "The kids said it in the locker room – they made history tonight. And I'm so happy for them. We've talked about this game since I got to Colgate, and we've been close a couple of times. I've already gotten a lot of text messages from former players who are so happy. This win isn't just for this team. It's for all the Colgate teams that worked so hard but came up just short."
• Colgate junior guard Randyll Butler: (On key second-half free throws) "We've been focusing on free throws and in a game like this you've got to knock them down. That's what I was trying to do."
(On playing point guard) "Coach wants me to play a little more point guard, so I've been working on it in practice. It's not ideal; I would rather Mariah have it, but I can do it."
(On the close call at Bucknell helping tonight) It definitely helped. We tried to come out like we did at Bucknell with a lot of energy, and this time we were going to close it. We weren't allowing any comeback."
• Colgate junior forward Josie Stockill: (On her parents' visit) "They were good luck while they were here. It's great to send them home to New Zealand with a win, and making history as well."
(On the inside play) "It was really physical, especially on box-outs and rebounding. We were trying to give back as much as we were taking and go strong in the paint."
• Colgate senior guard Missy Repoli: (On what the win means) "Holy Cross is always a tough team, so it's great to get our first win here. This will propel us into the rest of the Patriot League season."
• Colgate junior guard Paige Kriftcher: (On her hot shooting of late) "I'm shooting more confidently and my teammates are getting me great looks by attacking. And I'm making sure I'm in position."
(On the close call at Bucknell helping tonight) "For sure. We realized how much we can compete in the Patriot League and how we really should have won against Bucknell. That fueled us for tonight's game."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Hart Recreation Center on a cold night was 574.
 
Up Next
• Colgate is back on Cotterell Court this Saturday hosting American. The Eagles (8-6) are 3-0 in the Patriot League and tied for first place after Wednesday's 62-50 win over Loyola. Tipoff is 4 p.m.