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HAMILTON – A half-court shot that found a home sparked Brown to an 83-73 triumph over Colgate here Sunday afternoon.
Bears guard Shayna Mehta banked in a long distance heave just before the halftime buzzer and then really found her stroke in the second half, finishing with 28 points. Mehta had just six points when she let go with her half-court prayer.
But it found a home and the junior went on to finish 6-of-11 from downtown. Her point total and 3-point field goal number are individual game highs against the Raiders this season.
Colgate began the day ice cold, making just 1-of-14 overall and 1-of-10 from 3-point range in falling behind 17-3. The Raiders closed the first quarter on a 9-2 run and trailed 19-12.
Another 7-0 run by Colgate handed the Raiders their first lead at 22-21 on
Summer King's layup with 7:25 showing. It looked like Colgate would go to the locker room up 37-36 except that
Kateri Stone's nifty driving layup trickled just off the rim and then Mehta performed her half-court heroics as the horn sounded.
Brown led 39-35 at intermission.
The Bears opened the second half 4-of-5 from long distance and took a 53-43 lead with 5:33 left in the third. King's layup pulled the Raiders within 55-53 but then Brown answered with consecutive hoops to take a 59-53 advantage to the fourth.
Brown turned that into a 10-0 run and then 15-2 to go in front 70-55 with 6:14 remaining on Mehta's final 3-ball of the afternoon.
The veteran Bears made 8-of-12 from the floor in the final quarter and coasted to their ninth win in 10 tries.
Chelsey Koren led Colgate with a season-high 17 points, while Stone added 14 thanks to her 99th and 100th career 3-pointers. King posted her fourth double-double of the season with 12 and 12.
Brown got 20 points from Taylor Will and 13 points, 11 boards and six blocks from Janie White.
Bottom Line
Brown 83, Colgate 73
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 4-6 with one nonconference game remaining.
• Brown improved to 9-1.
Facts & Figures
• Koren entered Sunday's game 6-of-33 from the field this season but went 7-of-10. She raised her shooting percentage 12 points.
• Koren also led the Raiders with four assists against zero turnovers.
• Colgate's 14 turnovers were a season low.
• The Raiders claimed the rebound column 42-41 for their second win in that category this season (UMass Lowell 34-31).
•
Mackenzie Carroll tied her career high with three steals.
Rachel Thompson had two steals and leads the team with 18.
• Stone was 2-of-4 from 3-point distance and now has an even 100 threes for her career.
• She needs six more to join Colgate's all-time top 10.
•
Mylah Chandler matched her season high with six boards and just missed her scoring high with nine points.
• Colgate's bench outscored Brown 42-9.
From the Source
•
Colgate head coach Bill Cleary: (On the game) "Brown is a very strong team and we knew that coming in. They push the ball and they play very fast. We had very good opportunities in the first quarter but just couldn't make anything. We dug ourselves a 14-point hole, came back and took the lead only to give up a shot like that at the end of the half. It's deflating, but we're trying to teach our players that every possession matters.
"
Kateri Stone had a great attack at the end of that second quarter and the ball rims in and out. If that ball goes in, we're going to be ahead at halftime."
(On
Chelsey Koren) "It really started on her defensive end. She guarded Mehta as hard as she could and Mehta made some incredible shots. But Chelsey was strong defensively and had four assists to go with zero turnovers. That makes you feel good and that frees up your shot, and you saw the results today."
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Cotterell Court for Girl Scout Day was 487.
Up Next
• Colgate takes a break for exams and then plays its final nonconference game Dec. 22 against Niagara.
• The Purple Eagles are 1-8 heading into their Dec. 18 game against Buffalo.
• Tipoff is noon from Cotterell Court, with the Patriot League Network and WKXZ-FM carrying all the action.
