HAMILTON – Colgate head coach
Bill Cleary called Wednesday's Kids Day crowd the "sixth person," and the Raiders rode that positive wave of noise and energy to a 73-52 victory over Lafayette.
Colgate won all four quarters and shot 50.8 percent against the Patriot League's top field goal percentage defensive unit. Lafayette entered allowing opponents just 35.3 percent from the field and 58.5 points per game.
But Colgate in five conference games is shooting 53.9 percent as a team and averaging 78 points.
Rachel Thompson and
Abby Schubiger continued their sharpshooting ways, going 8-of-10 and 8-of-11, respectively, to lead all scorers with 19 and 16 points. Schubiger entered the game as the best shooter in the Patriot League, with Thompson third.
Schubiger is up to 56.3 percent for the season and Thompson is right behind at 54.7.
Lafayette jumped in front 10-4 by the first media timeout, but Cleary's second wave off the bench gave the Raiders a spark and a 12-0 run.
Haley Greer started the comeback with a 3-pointer and then
Tegan Graham and Thompson added buckets. Greer scored again before Thompson tossed in another three points to put the Raiders up 16-10 with 2:22 remaining.
Colgate led 19-14 at the end of one quarter.
The Raiders pushed the lead to as much as 35-19 late in the second when Thompson capped a fast break begun by Greer's steal and assist. Lafayette closed to within 39-29 at intermission.
Natalie Kucowski's layup and Shanell Haskins' 3-pointer narrowed the Leopard deficit to 44-38, forcing a Colgate timeout. The Raiders responded by closing the quarter on a 13-0 run to make it 57-38. Thompson scored seven points during that stretch, with Schubiger added four and
Alexa Brodie two.
Schubiger's layup made it a 21-point lead to open the fourth, and the Raiders coasted from there.
Jenna Paul's putback just before the final horn made it a 73-52 final for Colgate's 20th straight victory when scoring at least 70 points, and the team's sixth win this season by 20 or more points.
Colgate also set a program Division I record with its eighth straight home victory.
Bottom Line
• Colgate 73, Lafayette 52
From the Sources
•
Head Coach Bill Cleary (On the Kids Day crowd) "It's one of my favorite games of the year, by far. The kids do a great job of energizing our players and we really feed off that energy. It's such a great atmosphere. Brigid and Ashley do such a great job arranging for all of those schools to come out here today. They were an incredible sixth person for us, without question."
(On the offensive runs) "We got stops. For us, it begins and ends on the defensive end, and our players are starting to understand that. When we can get those stops and push the ball and get baskets in transition, we can really put teams on their heels. We did a really good job of staying packed in, taking away gaps, and our bigs did a great job of containing Kucowski and (Alexis) Santarelli today."
(On the bench) "The bench really responded well for us. We got off to that slow start, down 10-4, and the next thing you know we were up 16-10. They provided an incredible spark, and that's the thing I love. We have so much depth. Our first five, our second five or an intermix of the two – we feel we have a lot of weapons and a lot of threats on the floor at one time."
(On Saturday at Boston) "Every game is a tough game in this league. You can't take anyone for granted; if you do, then you're getting a loss. If you don't bring your A game, you're getting a loss. Marisa Moseley is going to have Boston ready; they are very well coached and always prepared. We've got a big game ahead of us Saturday."
Stats of the Game
• The Raiders won on Kids Day for the second year in a row, helping Cleary even his Kids Day record at 2-2.
• Colgate at 12-4 has equaled its win total from a year ago and matched the most wins since 2004-05
.
• The 4-1 Patriot League mark matches the 1990-91 Raiders for best conference start in program history. That was the very first season of Patriot League basketball.
• Colgate shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the fourth consecutive game and seventh time this season. The Raiders lead the Patriot League at 45.7 percent
.
• Lafayette was led by Kucowski's 10 points and 12 rebounds
.
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance for Kids Day at Cotterell Court was a near sellout at 1,702.
• Before the game, Thompson was honored with a commemorative basketball recognizing her 1,000 career point.
Up Next
• Colgate is back on the road Saturday at Boston University.
• The Terriers were 7-8 overall and 2-2 in the Patriot League heading into Wednesday night's home game against Loyola.
• Tipoff Saturday is 2 p.m., with the Patriot League Network carrying all the action.
