WASHINGTON – Three Raiders finished in double figures as Colgate used a balanced attack to beat American 72-60 on Saturday afternoon at Bender Arena.
Taylor Golembiewski scored a team-high 15 points, grabbed nine boards, and dished six assists.
The road victory is Colgate's first in Bender Arena since the 2010-2011 season and gives the Raiders their second four-game win streak since they started Patriot League play 4-0 in early January.
Colgate's 72 points today and 75 on Wednesday are the first back-to-back 70+ point performances since Jan. 3-6.
COACH ADEDUNTAN'S COMMENTS
"Couldn't be prouder! Just felt like we came out ready to play. We were really locked in to what we were trying to do defensively. Understanding American have a lot of weapons, we had a couple things in mind we wanted to throw at them. But I thought our toughness was a difference maker, we got a lot of contributions from different players who stepped up offensively and defensively. Toughness was a deciding factor and I thought we showed it in the first quarter and sustained it throughout the game.
"Super proud of Taylor, she's one that plays not just with her ability to score but with her ability to defend and rebound. She did a lot of good things, even in the second quarter when things weren't falling, she was getting offensive rebounds, getting her hands on steals. That's a difference maker, our energy was great. It's always great to have the bench be loud and cheering on and us being able to match our effort consistently was great to watch. It was a fun game.
"We got to show up and play hard. Show up, play hard, follow or gameplan, and then have a certain level of belief. I thought that was a big difference maker here in the last couple of weeks with our players. Just stay connected, stay locked in and we are in a good place right now."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Golembiewski was involved in the Raiders' first six points as she netted two jumpers and added an assist to Sophia Diehl within the first two minutes of the game. Colgate used a 10-2 run to finish the first quarter pushing its lead to 21-13.. Christina Midgette scored four points and Brodie, Ella Meabon, and Tiasia McMillan each added two apiece.
The Eagles cut into the Raider lead early in the second quarter until Meabon hit back-to-back pull-up jumpers giving Colgate a 27-19 lead. Both teams continued to play tough defense for the rest of the half and Colgate took a 33-26 lead into the break.
The Raiders took their first double-digit lead of the game midway through the third frame when Diehl and McMillan each drained a pair of free throws and Meabon hit another jumper giving her eight points on the afternoon. Colgate held onto the double-digit advantage going into the fourth quarter, 48-38.
Chidinma Okafor scored for the second consecutive game and provided two huge blocks on the defensive end of the floor. Emily Johns scored a layup with 7:01 left to get American within eight points but the Eagles never got any closer.. Colgate secured the win, 72-60, for its fourth straight victory to jump into the top half of the Patriot League standings.
Madison Schiller finished with 14 points and eight rebounds while McMillan added 12 points and two rebounds. Brodie netted all seven of her points from the charity stripe going 7-for-8 from the line.
The Raiders shot 44.6 percent from the floor (25-for-56) and scored 16 bench points.
UP NEXT
Colgate returns home to welcome first-place Holy Cross to Cotterell Court on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Tip is set for 6 p.m.
