HAMILTON – Just keep repeating: Road wins are gold. Road wins are gold. Road wins are gold.
Because it's the truth.
Colgate got nearly all it could handle from a scrappy Loyola bunch before escaping with a hard-earned 76-74 Patriot League victory here Wednesday afternoon.
Rachel Thompson brandished her Player of the Year credentials when they mattered most, scoring 10 of her game- and season-high 25 points in the fourth quarter. In the process, Thompson became the 15th member of Colgate's 1,000-Point Club in the Division I era.
Abby Schubiger once again was a difference-maker. The senior forward posted her first collegiate double-double with 14 points and a career-high dozen boards.
She also scored the go-ahead bucket in the final minute and then came up with the clinching steal on Loyola's final possession.
But things looked bleak for the Raiders just a few minutes prior.
Stephanie Karcz's turnaround jumper in the lane dropped to give the Greyhounds a 74-70 lead with just 2:56 remaining. The Raiders misfired on their next possession but got a key stop when Emily McAteer clanked a 3-point attempt.
Thompson then barely beat the shot clock with a swishing 3-pointer to make it a 74-73 game with 1:35 showing. After a Raiders timeout, Colgate again got a defensive stop and then
Tegan Graham found a cutting Schubiger for a layup and the lead.
Loyola's Bri Rossi missed a layup attempt and Thompson was fouled with 16.3 seconds remaining. The St. Louis senior missed the first free throw attempt but made the second and Colgate led by two.
Loyola worked the ball down low but it was deflected out of bounds with exactly 5 seconds left. Then after Karcz received the inbounds pass, the combination of Thompson's defense and Schubiger's quick hands caused a jump ball, with Colgate earning possession.
The Raiders got the ball in bounds and improved to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in the Patriot League. Loyola dropped its third straight to fall to 3-11 and 0-3.
Bottom Line
• Colgate 76, Loyola 74
From the Source
•
Head Coach Bill Cleary (On the road victory) "Any time you can a win on the road in the Patriot League, that's huge. I'll be honest, this is what we expected today. We expected a dog fight against Loyola and they are a good young team.
"I was really excited about our poise at the end. We were down 74-70 and then held them scoreless the rest of the game. A great team win."
(On
Rachel Thompson) "A very deserving week for
Rachel Thompson. People don't realize the amount of work this young woman puts in. She's constantly in the gym, she's constantly watching film, trying to make her game better. She's so deserving of everything she gets."
(On
Abby Schubiger) "We have a lot of confidence in Abby because Abby has a lot of confidence in herself. She's playing so well and has been a big difference-maker for us."
Listen to the rest of Coach Cleary's comments
HERE.
Stats of the Game
• Talk about a white-knuckle week. There were 15 ties and 20 lead changes Wednesday, pushing Colgate's two-game total for the last four days to 28 ties and 36 lead changes.
•
Ava Williams had the best shooting game of her young career, finishing 6-of-8 to post 14 points along with seven rebounds. She played a season-high 34 minutes.
• The Raiders blocked a season-high eight shots, led by
Haley Greer with a career-tying four.
• Colgate shot the ball well once again, finishing at 51.6 percent despite making just three of 15 from 3-point range.
• The Raiders finished with 21 assists against just 14 turnovers.
• Thompson with 1,014 points is 14th on Colgate's all-time Division I scoring list. She passed Kara Crismale, who scored 1,001 points from 1994-97.
• Colgate won its 18th straight game when scoring at least 70 points. The Raiders are 9-0 this season when scoring 70-plus.
• Laryn Edwards led Loyola with 19 points, followed by Karcz with 18 points, nine rebounds and four steals.
• Loyola entered the game shooting 68 percent from the line but stayed close by going a perfect 15-of-15. Edwards led the way with 10-of-10.
• Colgate's Thompson and Loyola's Karcz were named this week to the 15-member Her Hoop Stats Mid-Major Player of the Year Watch List.
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance for the (partial) Kids Game at Reitz Arena was 450.
• Several more Baltimore school children were scheduled to attend, but overnight snow caused many closings and limited attendance.
Up Next
• Colgate is home for the next two starting Saturday against Navy.
• The Mids were 5-8 overall and 0-2 in the Patriot League heading into Wednesday night's home game against Bucknell.
• Tipoff from Cotterell Court is 2 p.m., with the Patriot League Network and 94 WKXZ-FM carrying all the action.
