HAMILTON, N.Y. - In a game that came down to the wire, Colgate lost to Navy in a special Kids Day matinee at Cotterell Court Wednesday afternoon. While all the school children in attendance cheered on the Raiders, the Midshipmen came away with the victory, led by Jennifer Coleman's 23 points. Morgan McMahon, in her second consecutive 20+ point performance, scored 21 points and led the team with six rebounds. Tiasia McMillan and Alexa Brodie pitched in 12 and 11 points respectively.

The Raiders played with a toughness and resolve they have been working on all season, and kept the game tight from the beginning. Colgate outscored Navy in the final quarter but on the last possession they were unable to sink the three point shot they needed to tie up the game. McMahon played a fierce fourth quarter scoring 14 of her 21 points, but Navy held their defense tight and did not allow Colgate to score on the last possession. 

Colgate came out firing as McMahon put the Raiders on the board with her first three of the game. McMillan was the first to find points in the paint and she followed that up on her next possession with a trip to the stripe for two. Taylor Golembiewski grabbed a mid-court steal and drove to the basket to add two. Jenna Paul kept the threes falling and Colgate was leading 12-6. Navy closed the gap and tied it up at 12, then McMillan put two more on the board to lead 14-12. Navy responded with eight unanswered before Sophia Diehl put in two free throws. At the end of the first quarter, Navy had the edge 20-16.

The second quarter saw Navy grow its lead back to six before McMillan started the scoring spree for the Raiders. The score continued to fluctuate as Brodie put in her first basket of the game, followed by Alexa Naessens who scored with a layup. Navy's Mimi Schrader drained two quick threes which stretched Navy's lead to eight and a basket from Coleman increased it to ten. But then Colgate made a run thanks to a Diehl jumper, McMahon battling in the paint for two and a free throw for the three-point play. To end the half, Brodie sank both of her free throws and Colgate trailed Navy by three at 32-29. 

McMillan put in her first two free throws of the third quarter to bring the Raiders within one, but then Navy added four more points to their tally. McMahon nailed a jumper a second before the shot clock ran out and after that Brodie sank her own jumper followed by a shot behind the arc. The Raiders were up by two. Diehl continued her accuracy and put the Raiders ahead 40-37 at the media timeout of the third quarter. Navy's Coleman tied the score at 40. Diehl countered to go up 42-41. Brodie and Naessens each added a basket but Coleman struck again and the end of the quarter saw Navy jump to a five point lead, 51-46.

McMahon scored seven unanswered points to start the fourth quarter and Colgate took the lead 53-51. Unfortunately for the Raiders, it would be short lived. Navy battled back and took a five point lead before McMahon kept knocking down her shots. Two more from behind the stripe brought Colgate back within three but the score kept see-sawing with Navy back up by five before McMillan added two more from the paint. A layup by Navy was followed by a free throw by Golembiewski and a layup by McMahon. The Raiders were down by two with 27 seconds left on the clock. Navy added one more free throw to put the lead at three with 15 seconds left. McMahon pulled down the board after a missed free throw by Navy and Colgate called a timeout. After a missed three by Golembiewski and an offensive rebound by Diehl, Colgate called another timeout. With six seconds remaining the last two shots by Diehl did not fall for Colgate and Navy escaped with its second Patriot League win of the season. 

FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Ganiyat Adeduntan

"Our team is getting better and that's what I'm most proud of. Our resiliency is improving and we are making toughness plays that we haven't made in previous games. I am pleased with Morgan McMahon's performance again. She keeps getting better. Alexa Brodie was steady and just makes us a better team especially defensively. We appreciated the children here for our Kids Day Game. The atmosphere was great. I'm excited about the next opportunity we have against Holy Cross on Saturday."

UP NEXT
Colgate travels to Holy Cross to face off against the Crusaders Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.