WEST POINT, N.Y. – Confidence? Belief? Pick your description but pick it fast because this Colgate basketball team is gathering steam and chalking up victories.
 
The Raiders won their second straight and moved to 5-4 in the Patriot League with a start-to-finish 70-58 triumph at Army. The win snapped Colgate's 11-game losing streak to the Black Knights and handed the Maroon its best conference mark at this point of the season since 2005.
 
Tegan Graham paced four Raiders in double figures with 17 points, including 3-of-5 from downtown. Nia Ahart matched her career high with 15 points and both Mylah Chandler and Abby Schubiger scored 10 apiece. Chandler just missed a double-double with nine boards.
 
Colgate scored the game's first nine points and the Raiders led 15-2 on Summer King's layup with 3:28 left in the opening quarter. Of the first 13 Colgate points, Ahart had seven and Chandler six. What a start!
 
Schubiger's basket with 21 seconds remaining made it 17-9 Raiders at the end of one quarter.
 
Army in the second quarter twice pulled within three points, the latter 31-28 on Madison Hovren's layup with 3:01 showing. But during a key juncture the Raiders clamped down defensively and held Army scoreless the rest of the half.
 
Three-pointers from Graham and Keelah Dixon sent Colgate to the locker room leading 37-28.
 
The Raiders quickly advanced their lead to double digits. Graham knocked down a trey in the opening minute and then nailed another to spark a 16-2 Colgate run. Greer's 3-pointer from the top of the key handed the Raiders their largest lead at 55-34 with 2:06 left in the third.
 
It was 55-39 at the end of three.
 
Army's closest advance until the final seconds was 57-44 on Jess Lewis' 3-pointer that capped a 10-2 mini-run. But Schubiger scored six of her 10 in the quarter to keep the Black Knights at bay. Her two free throws with 1:57 showing made it 70-52, and Colgate coasted from there.
 
Rachel Thompson didn't dent the scoring column but the junior guard helped manage the offense and finished with two assists, three steals and just one turnover. Greer led with four assists.
 
Hovren paced all scorers with 26 points, her most in a Patriot League game this season. But the Raiders held her to nine rebounds, or more than four below her league-leading average.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 70, Army 58
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improved to 9-10 overall and 5-4 in the Patriot League.
• Army is now 8-12 and 3-6.
 
Stats of the Game
• Only six Raider teams have been over .500 through nine Patriot League games. The most recent was 2004-05, also 5-4, under head coach Kristin Hughes.
• Schubiger had a perfect shooting night – 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 at the line. Over her last seven games, she's shooting 56 percent and averaging 5.1 points.
• Graham continues to value the basketball. She handed out three assists without a turnover and now has 40 assists for the season to just 17 turnovers. In Patriot League play, it's 21 to 3.
• Colgate's 11 turnovers matched the season low.
• Colgate's nine 3-pointers tied the season high. Ahart and Graham made three apiece, Greer two and Dixon one.
• The Raiders forced 21 Army miscues and had a 16-7 scoring edge in points-off-turnovers.
• Colgate improved to 6-0 when scoring at least 70 points.
• Colgate's last win over Army was 71-60 in Hamilton back in 2014. Army had won 11 straight since.
• The last Raider win in Christl Arena was the 48-40 upset of the regular season champions in the 2013 Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals. Army had won eight straight since.
 
From the Sources
• Head Coach Bill Cleary (On the game plan) "We really wanted to keep Hovren from dominating the glass, which she can do. She's the best offensive rebounder in the league. She scored a lot but we did a decent job of keeping her off the glass.
 
"We had a huge start to the game, that 15-2 lead, and we kind of rode it the rest of the game. We were really focused on both ends of the floor. The players were locked in to the game plan. Our movement on offense was fantastic and we skipped the ball really well. Defensively, we were packed in and the attention to detail on the scout was great."
 
(On Graham, Ahart and Schubiger) "I'm very happy for all three of them because they looked for their shots and the shots were falling. They are putting the work in and it's great to see that hard work rewarded.
 
"A lot of people are going to be looking at Rachel's stats and see zero points, but she had a heck of a game. She didn't force anything, she found her teammates and she was solid once again on defense. That's what a great teammate and a great player does.
 
(On the team's confidence) "The biggest step forward we've taken is we are expecting to win these games. Last year there was a lot of 'Wow, we won.' This year, if we do what we're supposed to do, we expect to win. That was on display tonight in how we played."
 
• Junior guard Tegan Graham (On the offense) "We were really moving the ball. Our movement was really good and we were finding the open shooter. It was a great team win. Nia and I were feeling that outside shot, and Abby always has huge minutes for our team. Four-of-4 tonight.
 
"This was a great night for our seniors, who finally get that Army win under their belts."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Christl Arena was 407.
 
Up Next
• Colgate is home Saturday to take on American.
• The Eagles are 8-1 in the Patriot League and 12-8 overall after Wednesday's 70-58 comeback victory over Holy Cross. They have won eight straight, and a 76-57 decision over Colgate back on Jan. 6 started the run.
• Tip time is approximately 4 p.m. from Cotterell Court as the second game of a doubleheader, with the men taking on Boston University at 1. The Patriot League Network and WKXZ-FM are carrying all the action.