HAMILTON, N.Y. - The Raiders were not able to keep Avery LaBarbera from scoring a game leading 22 points and Holy Cross pulled away from Colgate in the second half to win 62-55. Morgan McMahon surpassed 20 points for the third time this season, leading the Raiders with 21. 

The first quarter saw six ties and four lead changes. Holy Cross finished out the quarter on top 16-15. Morgan McMahon was the hot shooter for the Raiders putting in one basket but going 8 for 9 from the stripe. Jenna Paul, Sophia Diehl and Taylor Langan all added a deuce in the period.

The next 10 minutes saw Holy Cross pull ahead and hold the narrow lead the entire quarter. Diehl started the scoring off with a spin jumper from the paint. Taylor Golembiewski put the first three of the night through the net for the Raiders and that was followed up by a step back jumper from Paul. To end the quarter McMahon put in a jumper to get back within one point before Holy Cross added a basket and a free throw to enter the locker room up by four. 

Three threes in the third quarter helped the Raiders come back from a 12 point deficit with three minutes to go in the period to keep the Crusaders within reach as they only maintained their four point lead from halftime. The Raiders put on the offensive jets and outscored the second half of the quarter to overcome a sluggish first half. McMillan put the first points in this quarter with her reliable ability to score from the paint. Morgan Frank was accurate from behind the arc with her first three of the night, followed by a lay-up from Alexa Naessens and then Golembiewski and Paul each struck from afar to pull within four points.

Holy Cross came back with a run of their own and put nine unanswered points on the board and extended their lead to 14 late in the fourth quarter. McMahon put in her first three of the game and Golembiewski added a stepback jumper for the first five points for the Raiders. After Holy Cross put four more points in the net, the Raiders were able to pull within eight after Langan made a second chance layup and then McMillan sank one of two free throws. After a steal by Langan, McMahon took the pass and added her second three of the night followed right back up with a steal and a layup. Holy Cross pushed the lead back up to 10 until Jenna Paul drained her second three of the night to close within seven as time ran out. 

FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Ganiyat Adeduntan

"We did not play with enough intensity and urgency that's required to be successful against a really good Holy Cross team. There are a lot of things that we can learn from this game. We will regroup and focus on our next game against Navy starting tomorrow."

UP NEXT
The Raiders close out the regular season with road games at Navy on Saturday at 4 p.m. and at Bucknell Wednesday at 6 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.