HAMILTON – Colgate dialed up some of its third-quarter magic and put the first Patriot League victory of the Bill Cleary era in the books with a 76-69 win over Lafayette.
 
The Raiders trailed 32-26 at halftime but sprung 50 points on the Leopards after intermission, including a 29-13 thumping in the decisive third quarter. Colgate opened the period with an 8-0 run and closed it on a 9-0 streak to take a 55-45 lead.
 
The 29 points marked a season high for any Colgate quarter to date.
 
The Raider advantage grew to 60-45 on a Katie Curtis 3-ball with 7:43 showing, capping a 34-13 Colgate turnaround since the break. Nine Raider turnovers the rest of the way – Colgate had 22 for the game – helped Lafayette rally to as close as 69-63 before Chelsey Koren drilled a corner 3-pointer with 1:03 remaining to seal it.
 
Curtis led the charge with 20 of her 22 points after halftime, while Kateri Stone added nine of her 22 points in the third quarter. Koren pitched in seven in the third period on her way to 15 points – all 15 coming in the second half.
 
Sarah Agnello led Lafayette with 20 points thanks to four 3-pointers before she fouled out with 2:49 to play.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 76, Lafayette 69
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improved to 4-8 overall and 1-0 in the Patriot League.
• Lafayette is now 1-12 and 0-1.
 
Quick Recap
• Lafayette broke in front and led the entire first half.
• The Leopards were on top 16-10 after one quarter and then scored the first six points of the second quarter for their largest lead of the game at 22-10.
• It was 32-26 at halftime and Stone was leading all scorers with 11.
• Colgate scored the first seven points of the second half to take their initial lead of the game, 33-32, on a Curtis layup. Stone added a free throw for an 8-0 run to open the period.
• There were four ties and seven lead changes in the third quarter before Colgate ended the period on a 9-0 run to take command, 55-45.
• Curtis scored 11 in the period, helped by a 7-of-10 effort at the free throw line. Colgate was 11-of-18 at the line in the quarter.
• The Raiders extended that run to 14-0 by scoring the first five points of the fourth quarter. A Curtis 3-ball made it 60-45 with 8:55 remaining.
• Koren's jumper with 4:33 showing kept the score at 68-54 before Lafayette rallied.
• The Raiders committed nine of their 22 turnovers in the fourth quarter, helping Lafayette put together a 9-1 run that made it 69-63 with still 1:28 to play.
• But Stone found Koren in the corner and the sophomore guard swished a deep 3-pointer for a 72-63 advantage that iced the game.
 
Facts & Figures
• Colgate won its fifth in a row over Lafayette.
• The Raiders shot a season-high 51.2 percent from the field. They were 3-of-12 from the floor in the first quarter and then 19-of-31 for 61.3 percent the rest of the way.
• Included was a 14-of-22 effort for 63.6 percent in the second half.
• Colgate improved to 3-0 this season when holding teams under 70 points.
• Colgate's 29-point third quarter topped the 27 the Raiders scored in the third quarter of their Nov. 20 win at Brown, and the 24 they scored in the third quarter of their season-opening double-OT loss at Providence.
• The team's highest scoring first, second and fourth quarters are all 23 points.
• Mylah Chandler grabbed 10 rebounds to reach double figures in that category for the sixth time. She's averaging 7.7.
• Curtis' 22 points matched her career high, and Stone's 22 matched her season high.
• The Raiders also set season highs for free throws made and attempted, finishing 26-of-39.
• Lafayette finished with 81 field goal attempts to 43 for Colgate.
 
From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Bill Cleary: (On the tough win) "Hats off to Lafayette; they played hard. Obviously, they are well coached. But I liked our players' resolve. For the most part, we were very well-disciplined. We were more aggressive in the second half.
 
(On his scoring leaders) "Our players are starting to understand that they actually are pretty good. Chelsey Koren – you want to talk about a big-time shot. She hit a huge corner three in that fourth quarter when we were dying for a basket. It was a great pass by Kateri to Chelsey and nothing but net.
 
Listen to the rest of Coach Cleary's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate junior guard Kateri Stone: (On the second half) "The message was attack them, get them in foul trouble. They had a size advantage on us but we were a step quicker. Katie, Chelsey and I were all attacking the basket and it really worked in our favor."
 
Listen to the rest of Stone's comments HERE.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Cotterell Court was 441.
 
Up Next
• Colgate hits the road for a two-game trip to American and Holy Cross.
• American is 4-8 overall after its impressive 60-45 road win over Loyola.
• The Raiders are vying for their first win over the Eagles since 2007.
• Tipoff Monday from Bender Arena in Washington is 2 p.m.

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