LEWISBURG, Pa. – One of the best Bucknell teams in history continued its march through the Patriot League with a 76-58 victory over Colgate.
 
The Raiders came to play Saturday and trimmed 10 points off the margin when these two teams played last month in Hamilton. But Bucknell's senior class improved to 60-7 against the Patriot League over the last four years and the Bison stayed in a first-place tie with American atop the conference standings.
 
Rachel Thompson scored 14 points and Mylah Chandler 12 for Colgate, which lost its fourth game in a row. The Bison are riding a 10-game winning streak.
 
The Raiders were sharp early. Colgate spotted Bucknell a 7-2 lead but then scored 10 straight to grab a 12-7 advantage on Tegan Graham's corner 3-ball with 4:52 remaining in the first quarter.
 
But just like that, Bucknell answered with its own 15-0 run and led 22-15 at the end of one quarter. The hosts scored 22 more in the second quarter as Colgate battled foul trouble. The Raiders were whistled for 16 fouls in the first half to Bucknell's three, and the Bison led 44-26 at intermission.
 
Colgate's best quarter was the fourth, when the Raiders outscored Bucknell 18-12. Chandler scored six in that period and Haley Greer five as the Raiders trimmed what had been a 61-31 deficit late in the third quarter to as close as 71-58.
 
Colgate hosts Lehigh Wednesday to wrap up this stretch of games against the top of the Patriot League. The Raiders are tied with Army for sixth place with five games remaining.
 
Bottom Line
• Bucknell 76, Colgate 58
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 9-14 overall and 5-8 in the Patriot League.
• Bucknell improved to 21-4 and 12-1.
 
Stats of the Game
• Colgate was just 1-of-2 at the line in the first half but finished the game 16-of-19.
• Not bad for a team that entered the game shooting 65.5 percent from the stripe.
• Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, native Alexa Naessens scored a season-high five points in 10½ minutes of action.
• Thompson scored in double figures for the 16th time and led the Raiders in scoring for the 13th time.
• Chandler led in rebounding (6) for the eighth time and also blocked two shots to tie teammate Summer King for eighth on the Colgate career chart with 81 blocks.
• Lorelei Grosskurth '85 is next on the list with 85.
• Chandler's six rebounds lifted her career total to 593. She's seven boards shy of tying Sarah Petropulos '87 for 10th on the Colgate career list.
• Bucknell placed four in double figures, led by 18 from Kaitlyn Slagus.
 
From the Sources
• Head Coach Bill Cleary (On the game) "I was very pleased with how we started the game. And then we allowed certain factors to get us off track and distracted. We've just got to come out with the same intensity that we had for 40 minutes. Consistency is the key.
 
"The players can do it, there's no question. We believe in them whole-heartedly. We've just got to get that discipline where we are able to play for 40 minutes straight. We've showed instances when are very competitive and very good. If we are able to maintain that over the course of a game, great things can happen for us."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance for Bucknell's Senior Day at Sojka Pavilion was 850.
 
Up Next
• Colgate is home Wednesday to begin the stretch run against Lehigh.
• The Mountain Hawks are 7-6 in the Patriot League and 15-9 overall after Saturday's narrow 50-47 loss at first-place American.
• Tip time is 7 p.m. from Cotterell Court, with the Patriot League Network and 94 WKXZ-FM carrying all the action.