The Raiders lost their final game of the regular season, but they had never before been closer to victory in Patriot League play. Last Saturday, Navy defeated the Raiders, 56-54, officially ending the Raiders’ chances of grabbing a win in conference play before the postseason begins on Saturday afternoon against the American Eagles.

The game began with the Midshipmen opening up a 22-12 lead. Colgate, however, managed a quick comeback and reduced the gap to just one point with a minute-an-a-half left in the first half. A final three-pointer gave the Midshipmen a precarious lead at halftime, 30-26.

The Raiders came out roaring in the second period and took the lead for the first time in the game after a 9-5 run. Colgate increased the gap to eight points at 46-38, which was its biggest lead in conference play. However, Navy responded with an 8-0 run of their own to tie the game. First-year guard Sami Kozlowski, who played a fantastic game and led all scorers with 18 points, put the Raiders back in front with a basket from behind the arc with 6:06 left. But the Midshipmen managed to reverse the flow with some staunch defense and held Colgate scoreless for almost three minutes. After Navy scored three points, first-year forward Georgia Gier knocked down a clutch jumper from the right wing to give Colgate the two-point lead. Unfortunately, Navy’s Emily Cordle hit a three with 1:24 on the clock to give Navy a lead it would not relinquish. Colgate took a timeout, but Navy blocked the following attack with very aggressive defending. Navy then made its last four free throws to secure victory. Colgate sophomore guard Laura Grimm showed her endurance by playing all 40 minutes and scoring 12 points. Kozlowski played all 40 minutes as well. On the other end, Cordle led all Navy scorers with 13 points.

The Raiders played their best conference game so far in terms of shooting: 38.9% from the floor and an impressive 53.8% from long-range. Head Coach Pam Bass was very satisfied with her team and a bit disappointed at the negative outcome.

“It was extremely close,” Coach Bass said. “Our team was having fun playing.”

Eighth-seeded Colgate will play top-seeded American in the Patriot League quarterfinals on Saturday in an attempt to repeat last year’s fantastic upset win over Bucknell at this stage of the tournament. This game and the entirety of the Patriot League quarterfinals and semifinals will be held at Army, while the championship will be played at the highest remaining seeds’ home court.

“Our team knows it’s fully capable of beating any team in this tournament. We’re looking forward to it,” Bass concluded.