WASHINGTON, D.C. - American's consistent offensive effort including 50 points in the paint was too much for Colgate to handle Wednesday evening at Bender Arena. The Eagles' Jade Edwards finished with a team-high 18 points. Tiasia McMillan matched that with a season-high 18 points of her own to lead the Raiders. McMillan was brilliant at the free throw line going 10-for-11 and led the team in rebounds with seven, but the Raiders ultimately fell 66-52. Alexa Brodie and Morgan McMahon each contributed nine points. 

The Raiders started off strong with some tough defense and the score was 6-6 at the first media timeout. Alexa Naessens put the first two points on the board, followed by McMillan making her first two attempts at the stripe and then following up with a basket in the paint off a great pass from Brodie. Colgate's next basket came from Naessens to keep Colgate in the lead 8-6. American finished the quarter on an 8-0 run to lead Colgate 15-8. 

McMahon started the scoring in the second quarter with a deuce early to close the gap to five points. Jenna Paul hit the free throw line after a foul by American's Kayla Henning and made one of two. McMahon followed her to the free throw line and sank two of three off a foul from beyond the arc. McMillan was next at the line, also splitting her shots. Brodie added to the score by putting in a nice lay up and sinking her and one. Towards the end of the quarter, McMahon put in a basket from beyond the arc and followed it up with two free throws on her next possession. Strong free throw shooting was not enough to hold American as they ended the half in the lead at 32-22. 

Colgate began the third quarter with two strong defensive stops. McMillan continued her strong showing at the stripe putting two more in. On the next trip to the basket McMillan made a driving layup and added the and-1 after the foul. Brodie scored next with a quick jumper to keep the Raiders within 10. The Eagles kept striking but Brodie did too, sinking her next jump shot from the top of the key to keep the lead at 10. Sophia Diehl sank a three to bring the gap down to nine. McMillan kept putting points in from the stripe with two more of her own closing the gap to just seven. American kept at it with four more points until Brodie added points in the paint. American held a 51-38 lead at the end of the third stanza.

McMillan initiated the Raiders' fourth quarter comeback attempt with a lay up from an assist from McMahon. Jenna Paul followed by sinking a long three off a pass from McMillan. Colgate was battling hard to keep the score tight and close the gap. Two more foul shots by Diehl brought the Raiders within eight, but American responded with 10 unanswered points. McMillan brought Colgate back on track with a lay up and Diehl added another free throw to go three for four for the night. Katlyn Ghavidel added a jumper for her first basket of the night and Colgate's scoring run was ended by McMillan sinking her last two free throws of the game. 

FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Ganiyat Adeduntan

"We played tough the second half of the game and never gave up. Our team kept working hard to close the gap. We have been working on playing tough and I saw evidence of that tonight. American is a very strong team and we played them tight. We will keep building and get prepared for our next game against Army on Saturday."

UP NEXT
Colgate is back in action Saturday at Army West Point. Tipoff versus the Black Knights is set for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.