LEWISBURG, Pa. – Paige Kriftcher turned in Colgate's second 29-point game in the last four days Saturday at Bucknell.
Colgate took on a pair of first-place teams this week and Raider scoring leaders Kriftcher and
Josie Stockill went toe-to-toe with the best the Patriot League has to offer. Stockill set her career high with 29 points Wednesday against Army West Point, and Kriftcher did the same this afternoon in the 79-60 Bucknell win.
Kriftcher was 10-of-17 from the floor, including 5-of-9 from 3-point distance. She added four perfect free throws to eclipse her 25-point performance back in the season opener at Kent State.
The five 3-pointers marked Kriftcher's best performance from downtown since the 7-of-8 showcase she put on in December for No. 1 Connecticut. The Long Island senior now has 90 treys for her career and is three away from joining Colgate's all-time top 10.
The 29-point games by Stockill and Kriftcher are the most for a Colgate women's basketball player this decade.
Katie Curtis scored 10 points for the Raiders, while Bucknell was led by 27 points from Jacquie Klotz.
Colgate is home Wednesday against Boston University in a 7 p.m. start.
Bottom Line
• Bucknell 79, Colgate 60
Won-Lost Records• Colgate is now 4-19 overall and 2-11 in the Patriot League.
• Bucknell improved to 18-6 overall and stayed in a first-place tie at 12-1 in conference.
How It Happened•
Ariel Etheridge got her first career start off on the right foot by scoring the game's opening basket.
• Bucknell went on to a 22-point first quarter and led 22-13.
• The Bison opened the second quarter with a 12-0 run (14-0 counting the final bucket of the first), aided by an 11-1 rebounding edge during that 6:32 stretch.
• Colgate finally found the scoreboard when Kriftcher connected on a jumper with 3:28 left to make it 34-15.
• Kriftcher went on to score seven points over the final 3:28. Curtis's baseline jumper as the halftime horn sounded made it 41-26 at intermission.
• Kriftcher scored Colgate's first nine points of second half on a trio of 3-pointers as Colgate pulled within 48-35 with 7:44 showing.
• In the first seven minutes of the third quarter, Kriftcher tallied 15 of Colgate's 17 points. The Raiders finished with 19 for the quarter and claimed a 19-17 advantage that period.
• Colgate stayed within shouting distance but could draw no closer than 12 in the final quarter.
Facts & Figures
• The first-place Bison didn't do Colgate any favors.
• Bucknell as a team shot 55.1 percent from the field after entering the day at 41.5 for the season.
• Klotz was the chief culprit, finishing a perfect 9-of-9 from the floor including 5-of-5 from long range. She was 4-of-5 at the line.
• Colgate shot 34.4 percent from the field and was 6-of-20 from 3-point distance.
• The Patriot League's top two free-throw shooting teams didn't disappoint. Bucknell was 19-of-25 for 76 percent and Colgate 10-of-14 for 71.4 percent.
• The Raiders kept their season average at 72.2 percent, or 0.2 ahead of last year's record free-throw shooting rate.
• Bucknell finished with a 36-30 rebound edge, but the Bison committed 22 turnovers to Colgate's 20. Bucknell had a 20-10 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
More Key Info• Colgate's scoring line went like this: Kriftcher 29, Curtis 10, Stockill 7,
Julia Barcello 4,
Mylah Chandler 4, Etheridge 2,
Kateri Stone 2 and
Tori Pozsonyi 2.
• Kriftcher's scoring by quarters saw the senior tally 2, 7, 15 and 5.
• Her 15 third-quarter points helped the Raiders win that period, 19-17.
• Kriftcher scored 22 points over a 10:28 stretch from late in the second quarter until late in the third.
• Kriftcher has a dozen 3-pointers over her last four games to reach 90 for her career. She's three shy of tying Director of Basketball Operations
Candice Green '12 for 10th place on the all-time Colgate chart.
• Curtis and Chandler matched their career highs for steals with four and two, respectively.
• Barcello was the Colgate rebound leader with five. She's averaging 6.2 over her last five games.
• Stockill was credited with just one blocked shot in the game, her 87th of the season and 223rd career.
• She also heads into Wednesday's game 18 points shy of becoming the 20th Raider to reach 1,000 career points. Gate Grab Bag• Attendance at Sojka Pavilion was 596.
• Both teams wore pink-themed uniforms to celebrate Bucknell's Play 4Kay Game.
Up Next• Colgate hosts Boston University on Wednesday.
• The Raiders defeated the Terriers 72-63 last month for their first win in Boston.
• Colgate is 4-1 all-time against the Terriers in Hamilton, including 3-0 since BU joined the Patriot League.
• Tipoff Wednesday is 7 p.m.
