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HAMILTON – Colgate placed three scorers in double figures, but Holy Cross countered with four and escaped Cotterell Court with an 80-71 victory here Wednesday.
 
The first-ever Kids Day for Colgate basketball drew an excellent crowd of local children from schools in Hamilton, Madison, Sherburne and Whitesboro. And they were on hand for a top-notch Patriot League contest.
 
The game featured 14 ties and 18 lead changes – a Colgate season-high for both categories.
 
Josie Stockill gave the Raiders their final lead with a pair of free throws that made it 67-66 with 3:41 remaining. But Holy Cross' Lisa Mifsud answered with a 3-pointer to spark the first of seven straight scoring possessions for the Crusaders.
 
Holy Cross limited Colgate to just one more field goal the rest of the way and built its lead to the final margin.
 
Stockill tied for game scoring honors with 19 points, with Paige Kriftcher and Kateri Stone adding 17 apiece. For Holy Cross, Infiniti Thomas-Waheed also scored 19 to lead four Crusaders in twin figures.
 
Randyll Butler topped her career high with 15 rebounds.
 
Colgate is back on the road Saturday in a 4 p.m. tip at Navy.
 
Bottom Line
• Holy Cross 80, Colgate 71
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 3-10 overall and 1-2 in the Patriot League.
• Holy Cross improved to 6-8 and 3-0.
 
How It Happened
• A high-scoring first quarter produced nine ties and seven lead changes.
• Colgate put together a late 7-0 run to emerge with a 26-22 advantage. It was the best-scoring Raider first quarter of the season.
• Three straight Holy Cross field goals to open the second quarter sparked a 10-2 run that put the Crusaders in front 32-28 with 5:40 showing.
• Colgate was back in front 36-35 on Stockill's bucket with 2:49 to play, but Holy Cross scored the last four points and led 39-36 at intermission.
• The Crusaders scored the first basket of the second half before Colgate went on a 9-0 run that handed the Raiders a 45-41 edge.
• Colgate's lead was 50-45 with 3:19 left in the third before Holy Cross ended the period on an 11-4 run that made it 56-54 Crusaders entering the fourth quarter.
• During a six-minute stretch overlapping the third and fourth quarters, Holy Cross connected on five 3-pointers and went from trailing 50-45 to leading 66-61 with 5:50 remaining.
• Colgate scored six straight points during its final charge to take a 67-66 lead with 3:41 to play.
• But Holy Cross overcame that lead with another 3-pointer and the Raiders never led again.
 
Facts & Figures
• Holy Cross entered the game shooting 39.9 percent from the field as a team and blew past that number.
• The Crusaders shot 47.4 percent, making 27-of-57. Colgate finished at 35.5 percent on 27-of-76.
• Colgate was 6-of-25 from 3-point range. Kriftcher and Stone made two apiece, while Curtis and Etheridge added solos.
• Kriftcher leads Colgate with 24 3-pointers and has 75 for her career. She needs 18 more to tie Colgate's Director of Basketball Operations, Candice Green, with 93 and join the program's all-time top 10.
• Holy Cross finished 8-of-19 from downtown, including 6-of-12 in the second half.
• Colgate won the rebounding battle 46-41, and the Raiders committed one fewer turnover (13-12).
• Nineteen of Colgate's rebounds were on the offensive glass and contributed to a 16-6 edge in second-chance points.
 
More Key Info
• Colgate's scoring went like this: Stockill 19, Kriftcher 17, Stone 17, Mylah Chandler 6, Katie Curtis 5, Ariel Etheridge 5 and Butler 2.
• Butler topped her previous rebounding high of 14 set earlier this season at Cornell. She has 557 rebounds for her career and needs 35 to reach Colgate's all-time top 10.
• Kriftcher and Butler both contributed seven assists.
• Butler passed the 200-career assist mark and now has 205.
• For Kriftcher, it was a career high. Her previous best was four, tied last month at Binghamton.
• Stockill was held without a blocked shot for the first time this season.
• Holy Cross' Molly Hourigan, who is one of those chasing Stockill in the Patriot League rankings, broke Stockill's Cotterell Court record with eight blocks in the game. Seven came in the first half.
• Hourigan now has 40 to Stockill's 57 for the season.
• Holy Cross scorers in double figures were Thomas-Waheed with 19, Mifsud 18, Hourigan 16 and Tricia Byrne 12.
 
Turning Point
• Colgate led 50-45 after Stone's 3-pointer swished with 3:19 remaining.
• But Holy Cross got hot from the 3-point line and took a 56-54 lead into the fourth quarter.
• The Crusaders connected on five 3-pointers during a six-minute stretch overlapping the third and fourth quarters.
• Those 15 points helped build a 66-61 lead that proved to be the difference.
 
From the Source
• Colgate head coach Nicci Hays Fort (On the game): "It was a great college basketball game, a great environment. We got a lead and we just weren't able to sustain it. They took the lead again and we weren't able to get over the hump.

"There were some tough defensive possessions for us with a couple of lapses. We didn't have a lot of lapses; we just had a couple. Unfortunately, that was the difference in the game."

(On the Kids Day crowd) "We've wanted to do that for five years and the dates just haven't matched up. But thanks to the administration and our marketing office and to all the local schools that wanted to be part of it. It was such a great event for the community and for our team.

"Think about how many young people got to go to a college basketball game for the first time. Or maybe they've been to a college game but they've never been to a women's basketball game. It was so much fun for our players and for all the students who were there. I hope we can do it again in the future."
 
Listen to the rest of Hays Fort's comments HERE.

Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Cotterell Court was 1,185 – second best crowd of the home season.
• Kids Day groups in attendance Wednesday hailed from Hamilton Central, Madison Central, Sherburne-Earlville Central and Hart's Hill Elementary.
• The kids were treated to free Olivieri's pizza and Gilligan's ice cream, and all received a free lunch box and a free slice coupon for Olivieri's.
 
Up Next
• Colgate returns to the road for a Saturday afternoon matchup at Navy.
• The Mids are 6-7 overall and 0-2 in the Patriot League heading into their Thursday night home game against Boston University.
• Tipoff Saturday from Annapolis is 4 p.m.

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