HAMILTON – Freshman
Alexa Brodie drove the lane for a go-ahead layup in the final minute of overtime and the Colgate women's basketball team came up with one final stop on defense to seal a 70-67 victory over Yale on Saturday afternoon at Cotterell Court.
Yale (1-1) claimed a one-point lead 67-66 on a layup by Camilla Emsbo with just over a minute left in overtime. The visitors' lead did not last, as Brodie took matters into her own hands on Colgate's next possession. The freshman cut at the 3-point line and stepped inside before banking the go-ahead floater over Yale's 6-5 center Emsbo off the backboard and in with 57 seconds left.
Colgate (4-0) forced an errant shot on Yale's next possession and
Ava Williams hauled in the rebound. Williams had a shot rim out with 15 seconds left, but a huge offensive rebound kept the Raiders in possession.
Haley Greer sank two free throws and the defense came up with one last stop, forcing an off-target 3-pointer as time expired to complete the 70-67 victory.
The Raiders needed late heroics in regulation just to get to overtime.
Keelah Dixon drained the game-tying 3-pointer with just four ticks left. Her initial attempt was blocked, but she got her own rebound and quickly splashed the trey to send the game to overtime, 59-59.
Two days after storming back from a 17-point deficit to defeat Cornell, Colgate stared down a 10-point deficit in the second half here Saturday. Yale claimed a 44-34 lead before the Raiders called a timeout with four minutes left in the third quarter. Back-to-back buckets from
Rachel Thompson and
Tegan Graham cut the margin to 44-38 at the end of the frame.
Colgate continued to push in the fourth quarter and Graham capped an 11-0 run to give the Raiders a 45-44 advantage. The Bulldogs swung the lead back in their favor 53-47 midway through the frame, but Graham swished a trey from the top of the key in a 7-0 spurt that put Colgate in front 54-53. Yale climbed back on top 59-56 in the back-and-forth fourth before Dixon's tying triple in the dying seconds.
There were three more lead changes in overtime – the last one on Brodie's driving layup that put the Raiders up for good.
The Raiders built an early 13-7 lead after a 3-pointer from Greer midway through the first quarter. Yale eventually tied the game 15-15 by the end of the opening frame and a free throw from Bronwyn Davies handed the Bulldogs a 27-26 advantage at the half.
A 10-0 run early in the third quarter gave Yale its largest lead of the game 44-34 before Colgate started to mount the comeback.
Bottom Line
Colgate 70, Yale 67 (OT)
From the Sources
Head Coach Bill Cleary (On the comeback): "We were back in a similar predicament as we were the other night. Don't look at it as a 10-point deficit. We keep saying it starts on the defensive end. Obviously we want to score, but in order for us to score, we need to get stops. We wanted to get three stops. That's a saying we have in our program. We had some great shots, but they just didn't fall. When that happens, our defense needs to make stops and we did that."
(On the clutch shooting) "This team is not afraid. We have kids who are not afraid to take shots. That's what we want. I told us at halftime we have to believe.
Keelah Dixon is a great example. She had her shot blocked at the end of the fourth quarter. But she stuck with it, got the rebound, and didn't panic. She got a second chance and buried it. That is what we have been preaching to our program. When you want those moments, you are going to make things happen. That's what Keelah did."
(On the upcoming game): "Canisius is very aggressive. What we have to do is make sure we stay disciplined. We have to pack things in and get stops on defense. For us, I don't care who we are playing. Just insert that team and we've got to defend. If we get stops, we're going to score."
Assistant Coach Lauren Ellis (On the start to the season): "This 4-0 start feels great. Our four seniors have taken this year very seriously on the level of leadership and culture. We have trusted the process and stuck with the plan. Without our senior leadership, we don't have this 4-0 start to the season."
(On the winning possession in overtime) "
Alexa Brodie is just a gamer. I told her at halftime to be aggressive and to keep taking shots. She kept that mentality and really went with it in overtime. Without that mindset, we might not have had the outcome we had today."
Stats of the Game
- Thompson led Colgate with 18 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds to go with three assists and three steals.
- Brodie finished with six points, including the go-ahead layup in overtime, plus she dished out five assists in the win.
- Colgate's bench outscored Yale's reserves 30-5, led by Greer with 11.
- Graham off the bench connected of 4-of-5 from the field and finished with nine points.
- The Raiders forced 19 turnovers and turned them into 23 points.
- Five different Raiders registered a steal. Thompson (3) and Graham (2) led the way.
- Colgate recorded a season-high 41 rebounds.
- The Raiders are 4-0 for the first time since 2009.
Up Next
Colgate heads to Canisius for a 7 p.m. tipoff against the Golden Griffins on Wednesday.
