WORCESTER, Mass. – Colgate made the plays when they mattered and the Raiders pulled off THE surprise of opening night in the Patriot League.
 
Nia Ahart's 3-pointer with 29.2 seconds remaining highlighted a closing 10-3 run in Colgate's 70-67 stunner over Holy Cross here Thursday night.
 
The Crusaders entered the game 8-3 overall and 5-1 at the Hart Center. Colgate came in 1-5 on the road.
 
The Raiders held the home side scoreless the final 2:26 and did not allow a made field goal over the last 6:50 in posting their second win in the last three seasons in Worcester.
 
After Madison Demski's layup with 6:50 to play made it 62-60, Holy Cross guard Madalyn Smith added two free throws for a 64-60 edge with 5:53 remaining. That capped a 10-2 Holy Cross run to open the fourth quarter after Colgate led 58-54 at the end of three.
 
But Summer King scored seven of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, and her second layup of the period made it 64-62 with 5:21 left. Mylah Chandler tied it at 64 with a layup at the 3:34 mark before three Smith free throws over a 43-second window pushed the Crusaders back in front 67-64 with 2:26 left.
 
King powered for another layup with 2:08 showing and then after Colgate held Holy Cross without a point on four offensive possessions, Ahart drilled her 3-pointer from the top of the key. Suddenly, the Raiders led 69-67 with 29.2 ticks left.
 
It was Ahart's only three-ball of the night.
 
Holy Cross freshman Avery LaBarbera misfired on a 3-point attempt and Colgate regained possession. King sank one of two free throw tries with 9.2 seconds left to make it a three-point game.
 
The Raider defense then held LaBarbera to a desperation heave from long range that missed everything, and Colgate had a huge road victory to start the 2019 calendar.
 
Keelah Dixon led the Raiders with 17 points in just her second full game back from injury. Rachel Thompson scored 12. Neither Dixon nor Thompson scored in the fourth quarter, putting into focus what a night of contributions this was throughout the Colgate lineup.
 
LaBarbera scored 17 for Holy Cross, while the twin towers of Megan Swords and Lauren Manis both posted double-doubles.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 70, Holy Cross 67
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improved to 5-6 overall and 1-0 in the Patriot League.
• Holy Cross is 8-4 and 0-1.
 
Stats of the Game
• King played seven of her 20 minutes in the fourth quarter and scored seven of her 11 points. She extended to eight her career-best streak of games scoring in double-figures.
• On opening night in the Patriot League, road teams went 3-2. But none was more impressive than Colgate's win in Worcester.
• Colgate since Bill Cleary's arrival three seasons ago is now 3-3 overall against Holy Cross, including 2-2 at the Hart Center.
• Before Cleary's arrival, Holy Cross held a 52-4 overall series edge and 29-1 advantage in Worcester.
• Holy Cross' largest leads were 27-19 and 31-23 midway in the second quarter. The Raiders closed to within 35-32 by halftime.
• Thompson got the Raiders going early with eight of her 12 points in the first quarter.
• Dixon scored 10 in the third quarter to help the Raiders to a 26-19 scoring edge for the period.
• Chelsey Koren grabbed three of her season-high six rebounds in six minutes of fourth-quarter action.
• Ava Williams and Haley Greer contributed five points apiece, including one 3-pointer per.
• Ahart posted two assists and a season-high three steals against zero turnovers in 31 minutes.
 • Colgate hassled Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Manis into just 11 points, or more than 10 below her conference-leading average of 21.6.

From the Source
• Head Coach Bill Cleary (On the win) "I'm so proud of our players. One of the things we just told them in the locker room after the game was their fight and their passion were unmatched since I've been here. I've never been more proud of a team that I have coached. The grit and the display of determination they put on tonight was awesome."
 
(On the late defense) "We told our players to stay in the moment and make the next play, and that's the biggest difference I've seen. We have great leadership this year and the buy-in has been fantastic. It was just a great team win, top to bottom. Between the kids who played and the kids who didn't, everybody contributed to this win."
 
(On Ahart's 3-pointer) "We knew they were going 1-3-1 zone and we drew up a play that we had worked on the last two days, and the players executed it perfectly. Big shout-out to Nia Ahart because the shots were not falling for her throughout the game, but she made it when it counted. She's a hard worker and it's great to see her hard work pay off."
 
• Sophomore guard Nia Ahart (On the winning shot) "We drew up the play and it was one Coach says I can always hit. He just said it was a pressure shot like we do every day, and I was confident and knocked it down. He always wants me to be aggressive and that's what I'm working on.
 
"We've been trying to piece together a 40-minute win all season, and this was a great team win. Everyone played so hard and we just ground it out."
 
• Sophomore guard Keelah Dixon (On her return to action) "I'm playing pretty well but still just trying to get my flow back, trying to see how I can most help the team – whether that's scoring or creating for my teammates or playing really good defense. I'm just trying to get that flow back and making sure I'm contributing as much as possible."
 
(On tonight's team contributions) "I could probably shout-out every single person on the team from the bench to everyone who was in the game. Never for a second did we doubt that we were going to win, so we all came ready to play. So when those moments came, no matter who had the last shot or who had the defensive play, we were going to get it done."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at the Hart Center was 592.
 
Up Next
• Colgate stays on the road for a Sunday encounter at American.
• The Eagles are 4-8 overall after Thursday's 71-56 loss at Bucknell.
• Start time is 2 p.m. from Washington, with the Patriot League Network carrying the free livestream.