BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Colgate saw its five-game winning streak come to an unfortunate end with a 55-47 loss at Lehigh on Saturday afternoon inside Stabler Arena.
Colgate led by as many as 12 points in the second half but Lehigh used a 15-2 run in the third quarter to take the lead and then hold on for good despite a late Raider charge in the fourth.
COACH ADEDUNTAN'S COMMENTS
"Tale of two halves for us. I thought we executed our game plan well in the first half then it was the complete opposite in the second. We knew what to expect but just didn't handle it well. We will evaluate what went wrong and learn from it with the sole intent of playing a full game in our final regular season game."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colgate got off to a hot start from the field, connecting on nearly 50 percent from the field in the first quarter. Taylor Golembiewski led five Raiders in the early scoring column with six points in the opening frame to help the Raiders establish a 15-12 advantage through the game's first 10 minutes.
The Raiders held Lehigh to eight points in the second quarter and shot 50 percent (6-12) overall. Madison Schiller connected on back-to-back triples and added a steal as Colgate forced seven Mountain Hawk turnovers in the frame to build a 30-20 halftime advantage.
Colgate's lead was still 10 points after Ella Meabon swished a tough jumper to make it 36-26 midway through the third quarter. Lehigh answered with an 11-0 run finished off by a 3-pointer from Meghan O'Brien to give the home team a 37-36 lead with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter.
Alexa Brodie's tough jumper in the lane ended Colgate's scoring drought and gave the Raiders a brief 38-37 edge, but that would be their last lead of the afternoon. Maddie Albrecht scored the final four points of the stanza for Lehigh to give the Mountain Hawks a 41-38 margin after three quarters.
Lehigh picked up where it left off in the fourth, using an 8-2 run to push its lead to 49-40 midway through the final quarter. Back-to-back buckets from Golembiewski and Tiasia McMillan pulled Colgate within 49-44 with 3:34 to go, but that would be as close as the Raiders would get in the 55-47 final.
Golembiewski paced two Raiders in double figures with 17 points on 8-of-20 from the field to go along with three rebounds and one steal. McMillan added 10 points and five rebounds, while Schiller contributed nine points, six rebounds, and three steals. Schiller was 3-for-5 from the three-point line.
Colgate shot 39.6 percent from the field (21-53) and 20 percent from the perimeter (3-15). Lehigh finished with a 47.7 percent clip overall (21-44) and just 1-for-12 from behind the arc. The Raiders won the battle on the glass 29-27, but could only turn six offensive rebounds into three second-chance points.
UP NEXT
Colgate (16-12, 9-8 PL) closes out the regular season with Senior Day on Wednesday against Boston University. Tip-off from Cotterell Court is 6 p.m. The Raiders will honor senior McMillan and fifth-year Brodie before the game. Colgate is currently tied with Bucknell and Army for fourth place in the Patriot League standings, one game behind Holy Cross, Loyola, and Boston U, who are all tied for first at 10-7.
