EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette made the most of Senior Day and registered its first home win of the season with a 90-85 decision over Colgate.
 
The Raiders put forth their highest scoring regulation point total all year, yet it wasn't enough in a game that saw Lafayette score in the 20s for all four quarters. Colgate tallied a season-high 32 points in the second quarter and then 25 in the fourth only to fall short.
 
In a see-saw affair, Colgate in the fourth quarter fell behind by 10 on three separate occasions before making one final surge. Mylah Chandler's layup with 2:46 remaining capped a 13-2 run and put the Raiders in front 81-80. It was Colgate's first lead since 9-8.
 
Rachel Thompson layups tied it for Colgate at 83-83 and 85-85, the latter with 1:07 left.
 
But Lafayette's Olivia Gumbs wouldn't be stopped. The freshman forward scored 11 of her team's 22 points in the quarter, including six in the final 2½ minutes. She led all scorers with 30 to go with 12 rebounds.
 
Senior Ashley Lutz added 20 points and 13 boards for the Leopards to offset six Raiders in double-figure scoring. Thompson's 18 points paced Colgate.
 
Consolation came in the form of losses earlier in the day by Holy Cross and Loyola, which clinched the sixth seed for Colgate in next week's Patriot League tournament. The Raiders were picked ninth in the preseason and still have a chance for their first eight-win conference campaign since the Patriot League championship year of 2003-04.
 
Bottom Line
• Lafayette 90, Colgate 85
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 10-18 overall and 7-10 in the Patriot League.
• Lafayette improved to 3-26 and 2-15.
 
Quick Recap
• Lafayette used a 10-0 run late in the first quarter to take a 25-15 lead after 10 minutes.
• Another 7-0 streak pushed the Leopard advantage to 36-22 with 7:10 left before half.
• But Summer King scored eight straight Colgate points and Katie Curtis capped a 7-0 run with a corner 3-ball to pull Colgate within 48-47 at halftime.
• It was the highest-scoring first half this season for both teams.
• The Raiders shot 60.6 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, including 14-of-19 in the second quarter.
• Colgate's 32 points in the second were a Raider season high for any quarter this year.
• But Colgate couldn't sustain the momentum when the shooting dropped off. The Raiders opened the period 2-of-12 from the floor, went scoreless for four-plus minutes and fell behind 63-52 with 2:49 left.
• It was still 68-60 Leopards entering the fourth quarter.
• Lafayette built 10-point leads on three occasions and still led 80-71 with 4:15 to play.
• That's when Colgate mustered one final charge. A Kateri Stone 3-pointer got it started, followed by King's layup and a 3-point-play from Stone.
• Chandler's layup finished off the 10-0 run and Colgate led, 81-80, for the first time since 9-8.
• But Gumbs converted her own 3-point-play and then hit a jumper in the paint to give the Leopards the lead for keeps at 87-85 with 40 seconds left.
• Colgate played the closing seconds without three key members. Curtis suffered an injury late in the third quarter and didn't return, while both King and Thompson fouled out.
• The Raiders misfired on their last three field goal tries – all 3-pointers – as Lafayette closed out the game.
 
Facts & Figures
• Colgate clinched sixth place in the Patriot League standings for the first time since 2011-12, when the Patriot League was an eight-team conference. Since going to 10 teams in 2013-14, the Raiders had finished ninth, seventh and eighth.
• The Raiders were picked for ninth entering this season.
• Although Wednesday's season finale at Lehigh remains, Colgate's Patriot League tournament quarterfinal draw is March 6 at Army West Point.
• Stone was 3-of-7 from 3-point distance, giving the junior 58 threes for the season. That's the most by a Raider since Meghan Curtin made 59 in 2005-06.
• Chandler scored a dozen points to go with seven assists and five rebounds. The sophomore led the team in assists for the fifth time this year.
• Thompson for the week averaged 16 points, 5½ rebounds, six assists and 2½ steals.
• Stone scored in double figures for the seventh straight game, and King for the fourth. Both of those extend personal-best streaks.
• The Raiders have yet to win this season (0-13) when not outrebounding their opponent.
• Lafayette's Lutz in her final appearance in Kirby Sports Center scored 16 points over her average of 3.5; Gumbs scored 20 points over her 9.4 average.
 
From the Source
• Colgate head coach Bill Cleary: (On the game) "You've got to tip your hat to Lafayette. You knew it was going to be an emotional day for them on Senior Day. We just couldn't slow them down. I'm disappointed because we were very undisciplined with what we wanted to do defensively. It mirrored a lot of the Loyola game back in late January. But you take a step back, you watch the film and see where the mistakes were made and we go from there."
 
Listen to the rest of Coach Cleary's comments HERE.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Kirby Sports Center was 445.
• Among the sizable Colgate contingent on hand was former Raider Steph Schultz '15, who hails from nearby Pottstown.
 
Up Next
• Colgate returns to the Lehigh Valley to conclude the regular season Wednesday at Lehigh.
• The Mountain Hawks are 9-19 overall and 4-13 in the Patriot League after losing 70-52 Saturday at Army West Point. They are locked into the ninth seed.
• Colgate defeated Lehigh 75-70 Wednesday in Hamilton. The Mountain Hawks lead the series 37-26.
• Tipoff from Bethlehem is 7 p.m.