HAMILTON – After holding the lead for 39:33 of the game, Colgate women's basketball topped Lafayette 71-52 at home to split the regular season series with the Leopards.
The Raiders ended the game shooting 62.3 percent from the field after making 32-of-51 attempted field goals. Junior
Tiasia McMillan and Sophomore
Taylor Golembiewski combined for 14-of-32 made buckets.
Golembiewski scored a team-high 17 points to lead the Raider offense. McMillan captured a team-high eight rebounds to go along with 14 points. Forward
Lindsay Blackmore tallied eight points off the bench in the fourth quarter for the Raiders.
The Raiders opened the game hot, scoring ten straight points with eight coming from Golembiewski and McMillan. The Leopards slashed the burst with a 6-2 run to finally get on the board in the game to trail 12-6 with 3:54 left of the first.
Colgate answered with a 6-3 run to extend the lead to nine points with a little over a minute left of the period. Lafayette closed out the first with four straight points to trail 18-13.
McMillan, Golembiewski, and freshman
Madison Schiller opened the second with a basket apiece to bump the lead to 11 points. The Leopards drew a foul to cut the run with a free throw to trail by 24-14 with 7:14 left of the first half.
Freshman
Christina Midgette scored three quick points, but Lafayette scored seven unanswered points to cut the deficit to single digits at 27-21. Golembiewski cut the run with a field goal that started a 6-3 run to push Colgate ahead by nine with 1:25 on the clock. Lafayette closed out the second with three quick points to trail 33-27 at the break.
McMillan started a 9-0 Raider run mid-third period to push Colgate's lead back to double-figures at 44-31 with 4:35 left of the third. Golembiewski scored five points in the run, including a three-point play.
Lafayette broke the run with a field goal that started an 8-4 stretch to cut the lead to nine with 23 seconds on the clock. McMahon closed the third with a three-point play to push the score to 51-39.
Golembiewski opened the final stanza with a jumper that sparked an 8-2 Raider run that extended the lead to 18 points. Golembiewski scored four points in the run. Colgate applied the pressure scoring six more unanswered points to push the deficit to its largest margin at 22 with less than two minutes on the clock.
Lafayette drew a foul that allowed the Leopards to score three points at the line with 1:05 on the clock, but a defensive rebound from freshman
Nicole Parks closed the game to secure the 71-52 victory.
NOTES
- Golembiewski, McMahon, and Schiller shot 100 percent at the charity stripe.
- The Raiders moved into tied fifth place alongside Bucknell in the Patriot League standings with two games remaining of the regular season.
- Colgate outrebounded Lafayette 30-29, with 30 boards coming from defensive efforts.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Women's Basketball Coach Ganiyat Adeduntan
"I couldn't be prouder of the composure we showed throughout the game. This game wasn't won tonight. It was won during practice in the days leading up. It's huge to get this momentum going this close to the playoffs, not that every game didn't matter before, but the next game is the most important. We took steps forward tonight, and that's the key."
UP NEXT
The Raiders (14-13, 8-8 PL) celebrate the senior class on Saturday, Feb. 25, to close out regular season home games against Navy. First tip against the Midshipmen is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Cotterell Court.
