HAMILTON, N.Y. – A strong second half by the Leopards ended the Raiders' hope for a victory to open Patriot League play as Lafayette defeated Colgate 59-37 Wednesday afternoon at Cotterell Court. 

Lafayette was led by Makaila Wilson who tied her season high with 13 points. Sophia Diehl was Colgate's top scorer with 11 points, while Taylor Golembiewski and Tiasia McMillan each contributed eight points. Morgan McMahon led the Raiders in rebounds, grabbing a season high of nine off the boards. 

Lafayette jumped out to a six point lead early in the first quarter, but Colgate came right back to tie it up off a jumper by Golembiewski and two baskets by Diehl. The Raiders took the lead off a shot by McMillan from the paint. As the score see-sawed, Jenna Paul sank a three and Diehl hit a jumper to keep it even, but Lafayette ended the quarter with a layup to lead 15-13. 

The second quarter was much like the first with very even play. Alexa Brodie scored her first points of the afternoon and made a jumper and a three-point basket to keep the Raiders within three of the Leopards. Lafayette continued to bounce back and score and Colgate found an answer with a nice assist from McMahon to McMillan netting her second basket of the game in the paint, while Diehl added a deuce to her tally. To finish out the half, McMahon made a nice spin around layup which kept Colgate within four points to end the first half down 28-24.

The third quarter saw Lafayette go on a run and outscore Colgate 13-6. Colgate's points came from McMillan with an early layup, and Golembiewski added a free throw and then a three to close out the quarter. 

Lafayette closed out the game shooting 64% in the fourth quarter and Colgate was unable to respond. Diehl put in a three-point shot and McMillan and Golembiewski added four points from the stripe to finish out the offensive contribution of the fourth quarter. Colgate fell by a final score of 59-37. 

FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Ganiyat Adeduntan

"We started the first half strong but did not put together four strong quarters. We were unable to get defensive stops in the second half that we did in the first and we were not able to execute offensively and put points on the scoreboard. Over the next few days, we are going to focus on Lehigh and make sure we are prepared to put in 40 minutes of work on the court for that game."

UP NEXT
The Raiders finish out their home swing and ring in the new year with a game on Sunday against Lehigh. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Cotterell Court.