Women’s Basketball Falls to League Leader American
Raiders Outlasted by Eagles in Tight Contest
The Colgate women’s basketball team fell short to the Patriot League defending champions, American, on Saturday, February 2, at home, 71-66. American’s star player, Cecily Carl, scored 37 points, including 10-of-20 shooting from the field, 4-of-9 from beyond the arc and 13-of-14 at the line. She stood out at the end of the game as well, making two free throws with 24.5 remaining on the clock and then two more with just 21.3 left.
Colgate had a strong lead early on in the game, starting off 7-0 and then increasing this lead to 15-8 with just 4:25 left in the first quarter. However, American climbed back into the game, shortening the gap to be down by just four points and then tied up at 18-18 with 8:37 left in the second.
Colgate responded well to the game tying up, refusing to give up their lead. Junior guard Rachel Thompson scored with 4:16 left to put the Raiders ahead 29-23. Then, senior forward Summer King scored a layup to finish out the half with just 1:16 left, putting the Raiders up 34-30. Thompson continued to perform for the Raiders throughout the game, scoring back-to-back at the start of the second half. She led the Raiders with 20 points, going 9-of-11 on scoring for the night. The game continued to go back and forth until American secured a lead with just 5:37 left to go up 56-53. They maintained this lead for the rest of the game, but Colgate never let up.
Colgate is now 9-11 overall and 5-5 in Patriot League play. Head coach Bill Cleary commented on the team’s performance.
“Our team grew up a lot today. They gave everything they had and followed every instruction we asked of them. That’s a very good team, American. It’s unfortunate, but every time we had a lapse, they exploited it—and that’s what good teams and first-place teams do.” Cleary said. “But we did a great job of adjusting to the first game, understanding mistakes we as a coaching staff had made and the players as well. We executed very well today, especially down the stretch, and I was proud of Keelah for those two looks she got. Keelah doesn’t realize it but she kept us in that game with two big three-pointers in the fourth quarter. It was a great effort by everybody and a big step forward for us.”
“We made some key adjustments from the last time we played them and were able to execute our game plan and scout really well. We are proud of how we did as a team and we hope to see the min playoffs because we know we can beat them and really compete with anyone in the league.” Junior forward Abby Schubiger said.
Despite the loss, the Raiders are in fifth place in the Patriot League and have a chance to gain a home seed in the first round of the conference tournament if they end the season on a winning note. Colgate is looking forward to continuing their strong play as they head into next week’s matchup against Navy on Saturday February 9. Navy is currently 3-7 in the Patriot League and 8-12 overall after having a tough loss to Lehigh in their last game. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. at Navy. Stay tuned and get ready to cheer on your Raiders!
Contact Kate Kelly at [email protected].
