HAMILTON – Sometimes, the perfect way to close out a big-time victory is to go, well, all perfect on 'em.
 
Colgate made its last eight shots from the field – 8-of-8 – over the final 6:05 and stormed past Army 85-80 here Wednesday night to take over sole possession of sixth place in the Patriot League standings.
 
The Raiders trailed 69-65 after Army's Jess Lewis dropped a 3-pointer with 6:25 showing. It was Colgate's largest deficit since 10-5 and the momentum clearly rested on the Army side of the court.
 
But Colgate on a great shooting night – best of the season, in fact, at 55.6 percent – went laser sharp to completely swing this game and perhaps this season when it mattered most.
 
Summer King connected with 6:05 left and the Raiders called a quick timeout. The voices as the huddle broke were in unison – they had to find a way.
 
On Colgate's next possession, Rachel Thompson swished a 3-pointer and then Mylah Chandler knocked down a mid-range jumper. Colgate suddenly had the lead for keeps at 72-71 with 4:57 remaining.
 
Haley Greer followed with a pair of layups – the first after an absolutely beautiful ball-fake and drive – and Colgate was in front 76-73 with 2:49 showing. Nia Ahart, Tegan Graham and Chandler again converted for an 82-75 cushion with just 1:04 on the clock.
 
Colgate made enough free throws at the end to keep the Black Knights at bay and the Raiders had their first back-to-back victories against Army since 2013. Last month in West Point, Colgate snapped an 11-game losing streak to Army.
 
Graham led the Colgate scoring with a career-high 24 points. She began the game 7-of-7 from the floor, including 4-of-4 from downtown. The four made 3-pointers for the New Zealand junior also were a collegiate best.
 
Greer scored 16 points for her third straight game in the mid-teens, while Thompson added 15 points and eight assists – missing her career high in that category by one. Chandler pocketed eight rebounds and she and Thompson added three steals apiece.
 
Army was led by the inside duo of Madison Hovren and Kate Murray. Hovren matched her career high with 35 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while Murray scored 24 to go with eight boards.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 85, Army 80
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improved to 11-15 overall and 7-9 in the Patriot League.
• Army is now 11-16 and 6-10.
 
Stats of the Game
• Colgate's 11 victories are the most since the 2005-06 squad went 12-18.
• This was Colgate's first season sweep of Army in 17 years. When the Raiders posted consecutive wins over the Black Knights in 2013, one was a regular season game in Hamilton and the other the memorable 8 vs. 1 upset in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
• The 85 points were a season high.
• Colgate's previous best shooting performance this season was 49.1 percent in an early December win over Fairleigh Dickinson.
• Graham in two games this year against Army scored 41 points on 17-of-29 shooting, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range.
• Colgate led 47-40 at halftime and was in front 58-50 before going ice cold the last 4:03 of the third quarter. Army used an 10-0 run to lead 60-58 early in the fourth.
• Then just as she did Saturday at Loyola, Graham jumpstarted the Colgate offense early in the final period with a pair of driving layups.
• The second one made it 62-62 with 8:56 remaining and Colgate went on to score 27 big points in the period.
• Greer's scoring streak of 16, 14 and 16 points – her career high is 17 – marks the first time she's reached double figures three games in a row.
• Greer was just 1-of-6 from long distance but finished 5-of-5 from 2-point range.
 
From the Source
• Head Coach Bill Cleary (On the victory) "What a great team win. Every single player contributed and what a fun game to watch and be a part of. I thought this would be a game in which we could do some things offensively, and our kids did just that.
 
(On Graham) "It's her attitude. Yes, she's a hard worker; she gets in the gym. But whatever role we give her, she's going to accept it and do it to the best of her ability. She's really stepped up here of late and I'm really happy to see her hard work paying off.
 
"Again tonight, we had that stretch where we didn't have any baskets late in the third quarter and how did we end it? How did we break that slump? Tegan Graham. She's always hitting big shots."
 
(On Greer) "There's another player who has gotten in a groove. She's really having great games one after the other. She's playing with a lot of confidence right now. The thing I loved today is she attacked the basket. She's scoring when it matters the most and I'm so happy for her success."
 
(On the fourth quarter) "We just kept saying, 'Relax. We're fine.' Offensively, we were playing well. We were taking good shots and shot 56 percent. But it starts and stops with our defense. We left those huddles and, Coach Ellis said it best, the players understood what we wanted, they understood what they needed to do, they were confident, locked in and they executed exactly how we wanted."
 
(On Army's Hovren) "I'm thrilled that we hopefully won't have to face her again. I told her after the game that she's just a tireless worker. I love how hard she goes and she never takes a play off. Even though you know in a sense what she's going to do, she still finds a way to get it done. She represents the league in a first-class fashion and is having a truly great season."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Cotterell Court for the second game of the doubleheader was 219.
 
Up Next
• Colgate is home again Saturday for Senior Day against Holy Cross.
• The Crusaders are 8-8 in the Patriot League and 16-11 overall after Wednesday's 71-44 home loss to first-place American.
• Tip time is 2 p.m. from Cotterell Court, with the Senior Day festivities beginning around 1:45. The Patriot League Network and 94 WKXZ-FM once again carry all the action.