BETHLEHEM, Pa. – THAT was an impressive performance.
Colgate offered a peek at what might be yet to come with a scintillating 82-73 road victory over Lehigh here Wednesday night. The Raiders began a tough closing stretch of the regular season with just the start they needed, racing past the preseason favorites in their own gym.
Colgate trailed 39-36 early in the third quarter before outscoring the Mountain Hawks 39-16 over the next 11:57. The Raiders led 75-55 with 5:42 remaining, and they coasted from there to their 18th victory of the season.
Rachel Thompson led the way with a career-high 33 points on 16-of-24 shooting. She made three of Colgate's first four baskets and never looked back, scoring eight points in the first quarter, six in the second, 12 in the third and seven in the fourth.
Hers were the most points by a Colgate Raider since Emily Braseth scored 35 at Lafayette back on Jan. 23, 2005.
Colgate worked for an early 18-10 lead on
Haley Greer's 3-pointer with 3:24 left in the opening quarter. The period ended on a perfect note when Greer found
Tegan Graham for a reverse layup that just beat the buzzer and Colgate led 23-16 after 10 minutes.
Lehigh answered with the first eight points of the second quarter to take a 24-23 lead with 7:01 showing. Thompson ended the dry spell on Colgate's next possession and the teams traded leads four times with a pair of ties before
Taylor Langan's corner 3-pointer made it 34-33 Raiders at intermission.
Colgate trailing 39-36 began its big rally when
Alexa Brodie swished a 3-pointer for the tie and Thompson scored back-to-back buckets. Greer's steal fed Thompson for a fast-break layup and then Graham did the same for a 47-41 lead with 4:15 showing.
Langan and Thompson converted layups for a 53-43 cushion, and Langan knocked down another 3-ball to put the Raiders in front 59-48 heading to the fourth.
It was 65-53 Raiders when Brodie followed a pair of free throws with her second 3-pointer of the game. Greer's third 3-pointer preceded two Graham charity tosses and the Raiders had their largest lead at 75-55 with 5:42 to play.
Lehigh's Emma Grothaus scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and Hannah Hedstrom 10 to keep the Mountain Hawks close. Grothaus finished with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 7-of-8 at the line.
Colgate improved to 18-7 overall, matching the 2003-04 Raiders for most regular season victories in program history. The Raiders also improved to 10-4 in the Patriot League, equaling the final record of the 2003-04 regular season champions back when there were only seven conference opponents and thus 14 games.
Lehigh dropped to 16-9 and 8-6.
Bottom Line
• Colgate 82, Lehigh 73
From the Source
•
Head Coach Bill Cleary (On the game) "We told our players that we are really proud of them. Sue Troyan does a fantastic job, and for us to come in here and beat the preseason No. 1 team is pretty good.
"That being said, we've got to finish games better. For us, it's a process of learning how to play with leads because it's hard. But we have to keep working."
(On Thompson's performance) "She got the first basket and set the tone early. When she's setting the table for us, it gives our whole team confidence. And the entire team was flowing off of her."
(On guard play) "We protected the ball well. Haley and Brodie did a great job of running the floor. They both understood what we wanted to do and executed it really well. Tegan and Nia did a great job of finding Rachel and finding each other. Ava and Taylor also had big games."
(On Holy Cross) "We know every game in this league is tough. Coach Troyan and I were talking before the game that whoever wins our league is going to be battle-tested going into the NCAA tournament. They would have had to earn every win. Our players are going to enjoy tonight but then tomorrow we will wake up thinking about Holy Cross."
•
Senior guard Rachel Thompson (On her fast start) "The key was getting back to the way Colgate plays and that's transition. Lehigh is one of the best transition teams and we also pride ourselves in our transition game. So once we got running, it was easy to get in the flow.
"The team was loose and played like we had nothing to lose. There was a sense of calm but determination during warmups. We knew the game plan and were confident in ourselves and our team to execute that.
(On her 33 points being the most since 2005) "It's great. Having the team and support by the coaches makes it that much more special."
Stats of the Game
• Thompson also finished with 14 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season, and she handed out a game-high six assists.
• Colgate's bench outscored the Mountain Hawks' bench 30-15.
• Points-off-turnovers was a 21-6 Colgate advantage.
• Brodie and Langan both scored 10 points for their highest totals since they each scored 13 against Army back on Jan. 5.
• Crazy note of the night: This was Colgate's first night game win since Dec. 4 against Siena, snapping a four-game losing streak.
• The Raiders won for the 24th straight time when scoring at least 70 points. Colgate is 15-0 this season when scoring 70-plus.
• Colgate and Lehigh play again in two weeks in Hamilton.
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Stabler Arena was 505.
Up Next
• Colgate is back on the road Saturday at Holy Cross.
• The Crusaders are 15-10 overall and 8-6 in the Patriot League after Wednesday's 63-45 loss at Bucknell.
• Tipoff from Worcester is 2 p.m., with the Patriot League Network carrying all the action.
