LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell's inside trio performed as advertised and the Bison registered a 79-56 win over Colgate here Saturday.
 
Claire DeBoer, Sune Swart and Kaitlyn Slagus combined for 42 points and 17 rebounds as the Bison won their ninth straight game and improved to 14-3 overall, 6-0 in the Patriot League. The Bison, with DeBoer at 6-foot-1 the shortest of the three inside players, outscored Colgate 42-26 in the paint.
 
Colgate tried to counter for most of the game with 6-1 Summer King, 5-10 Mylah Chandler and 6-1 Abby Schubiger. They combined for 16 points and 15 rebounds.
 
Bucknell also outshot Colgate from the outside, hitting 7-of-15 from 3-point distance to Colgate's 4-of-19. Rebounds went 48-32 to the host Bison.
 
Rachel Thompson returned from a one-game injury hiatus to lead the Raiders with 13 points and a season-high eight rebounds. Katie Curtis added 11 points and Kateri Stone 10.
 
DeBoer was the game's leading scorer with 18. She was one of five Bison in double figures, helping Bucknell outscore Colgate in all four quarters.
 
Bottom Line
• Bucknell 79, Colgate 56
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 5-12 overall and 2-4 in the Patriot League.
• Bucknell improved to 14-3 and 6-0.
 
Quick Recap
• Bucknell made six of its first seven shots from the field and led 12-6 just 4½ minutes in.
• The Bison led by as much as 21-8 before Mackenzie Carroll sank a 3-pointer to make it 21-11 at the end of the first quarter.
• Sixteen of Bucknell's 19 points from the field in that opening quarter came in the paint.
• Bucknell's largest lead of the first half was 31-14 with 5:33 left before halftime.
• Colgate's best flurry of the game was a 9-0 run over a three-minute stretch that narrowed the lead to 35-28 with 57 seconds left before halftime.
• Thompson started the run with a layup, followed by a Stone trey. Curtis scored the last four points on a jumper and a pair of free throws.
• But Bucknell responded with the last five points of the period and led 40-28 at intermission.
• Bucknell's best-scoring quarter was the third, a 25-15 edge over the Raiders.
• King scored all six of her points in the fourth quarter to aid the Raider effort down the stretch.
 
Facts & Figures
• Thompson's eight rebounds topped the seven she had in her collegiate debut Nov. 11 at Providence.
• Schubiger grabbed six caroms for her third game in the last four with at least six rebounds.
• Colgate's 31.7 percent shooting from the field was its second-lowest mark of the season, trailing only the 27.1 percent at Gonzaga.
• The team's 14 turnovers tied for second fewest behind the 12 in a Nov. 20 win at Brown.
• Thompson led the Raiders in scoring for the third time this season. She trails only Curtis and Stone (5 each) in that department.
• Thompson also is third on the team with seven games scoring in double figures.
 
From the Source
• Colgate head coach Bill Cleary: (On Bucknell) "They're a very good team. You can tell they've played together for a while now and Aaron (Roussell) has done a fantastic job there. They do a great job of sharing the ball, they do a great job of working well together, they know where each other is going to be – they're a very tough team."
 
(On Rachel Thompson's return) "You know what you're getting with Rachel; she's going to give you everything she has. She's a competitor, she wants to win and she's willing to do whatever it takes. I know she got hit in the face but it didn't faze her one bit."
 
Listen to the rest of Coach Cleary's comments HERE.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Sojka Pavilion was 695.
 
Up Next
• Colgate returns to Cotterell Court for a Wednesday night encounter against Boston University.
• The Terriers are an impressive 4-2 in the Patriot League after their 61-58 home win over Loyola Saturday.
• Colgate is 4-3 against BU since the Terriers joined the Patriot League in 2013-14.
• Tipoff is 7 p.m.