HAMILTON – Colgate made the most of Senior Day Saturday by toppling Loyola 79-70 at Cotterell Court.
 
It's Win No. 17 for the season, No. 11 at home and No. 9 in the Patriot League against just four losses. That mark keeps the Raiders in a second-place tie alongside Boston University and one game clear of the group at 8-5 made up of Lehigh, Holy Cross and Lafayette.
 
The Raiders face two of those teams this week – at Lehigh Wednesday and at Holy Cross Saturday – as the conference race turns into the stretch. The top four finishers in the regular season standings host Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal games on March 9.
 
Colgate finished sixth last season and was picked for sixth this preseason.
 
Colgate on this day started fast, putting together a 14-0 run in the first quarter en route to a 19-8 lead after 10 minutes. The Raiders then outscored the Greyhounds 20-18 in the second quarter and 23-20 in the third, building the lead to 64-46 on Tegan Graham's jumper to start the fourth.
 
Graham had scored 13 points in the third quarter alone before adding that early basket in the fourth. She finished with a season-high 22 points, boosted by a season-high trio of 3-pointers. Saturday's scoring effort returned her average to 8.2, equaling her high-water mark for 2019-20.
 
Loyola played its best quarter in the final stanza, but the Raiders never let the lead ebb below nine and that's where it ended at 79-70.
 
Abby Schubiger scored 12, Haley Greer 11 and Ava Williams 10. Rachel Thompson was held to eight points, but she filled her stat line with seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Thompson with 119 assists this season needs just 12 more to tie Lauryn Kobiela's 2014 record of 131.
 
Stephanie Karcz led Loyola with 26 points, eight boards and five steals. The Grayhounds are now 7-17 overall and 4-9 in conference.
 
Colgate is 17-7 overall, extending the best record in program history through 24 games. The nine Patriot League wins equal the second most of any Colgate squad, matching the 1994-95 Raiders who finished 9-5 and trailing only the 2003-04 champions at 10-4.


 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 79, Loyola 70
 
From the Source
• Head Coach Bill Cleary (On the fast start) "I'm really thrilled with the start we had today. We really rode the enthusiasm and energy of our seniors for their Senior Day. Wow! We were just really good in all facets, and it was fun to watch.
 
"I'm really happy for our seniors. This group deserved to have a great day today."
 
(On Graham's performance) "It was great for Tegan to play the way she did in front of her family and friends. She's such a hard worker and such a positive person and influence on this team – you love when players like that are rewarded.
 
"Haley Greer had a very strong game again, Rachel Thompson had eight points, seven assists and seven rebounds, but a plus-21. She did a lot of positive things out there that don't always pop up on the stat sheet. And Abby Schubiger played the way she has all year.
 
"All four of them deserve a lot of praise, not just for this game but for what they've been doing all year."
 
(On the closing stretch) "If you are a competitor, this is what you want and what you came here for. We're basically in the playoff fight every game from here on out. We're fighting for seeding, we're fighting for home court, we're fighting for a lot of things.
 
"I want our players to enjoy Senior Day and the banquet tonight, but Sunday we start thinking about Lehigh and taking it one game at a time."


 
Stats of the Game
• Saturday's win was Colgate's 23rd in a row when scoring at least 70 points. The Raiders are 14-0 this season when scoring 70-plus.
• The Raiders won their fifth in a row over Loyola.
• Thompson with Saturday's numbers moved up to eighth in career scoring at 1,168 points, sixth in rebounding at 629, solo fourth in assists at 315 and eighth in steals at 199.
• Colgate's season free throw percentage dropped from 76.2 to 74.4 after the Raiders sank just six of 15 attempts. It was the first time this season the Raiders were below 50 percent for a game.
• The team record for a completed season is 73.9 percent.
• Three blocked shots for Greer and she's up to a team-leading 18. Graham swatted two and she's second with 15.
• Graham now has an even 50 blocks for her career and is tied for 12th on the Colgate all-time list.


 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Cotterell Court was 488.
 
Up Next
• Colgate is on the road twice this week, starting Wednesday night at Lehigh.
• The Mountain Hawks are 16-8 overall and 8-5 in the Patriot League after Saturday's 89-72 home triumph over Army.
• Tipoff from Bethlehem is 6 p.m., with the Patriot League Network carrying all the action.