Women’s Basketball Shooting the Lights Out
The team has won three games this year, nearly half of their win total from the entirety of last year.
After falling to the Siena Saints on Thursday November 29 and losing their two game winning streak, the Colgate Women’s Basketball team answered back strongly, defeating the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights this past Sunday. The Raiders battled the Knights at Colgate on Cottrell Court on December 2 and secured a dominant 71-52 victory to re- main undefeated at home.
With strong defensive energy, the Raiders quickly grabbed a commanding 38-16 lead in the first half. Senior forward Mylah Chandler had twelve rebounds during the contest and blocked two shots. The game opened with three consecutive baskets in the span of a minute and 20 seconds thanks to a three-pointer from sophomore guard Nia Ahart, a jumper in the paint from junior guard Haley Greer, and a lay up from junior guard Tegan Graham. During the first 20 minutes of play, Colgate’s defense was able to hold the Knights to 5 of 30 for shooting. The Raiders experienced their second unanswered scoring run later in the first quarter to ad- vance their 9-7 lead to 18-7 in just over three minutes. With three free throws and a jumper made by junior guard Rachel Thompson, the Raiders advanced their lead to 14-7. Senior forward Sum- mer King continued the lead with another free throw before adding in a lay up in the paint increasing the Colgate lead by nine.
The Raiders advanced their first quarter lead into the second quarter by outscoring the Knights 20-7. King added another eight and Thompson added another four for the Raiders. This left Thompson just one point short of her season best and two short of her career high. All second quarter points were made from two-pointers. After going into half-time with a 38-16 lead over the Knights, the Raiders were able to hold onto the lead for the rest of the contest although the lead narrowed at times. Fairleigh Dickinson was able to bring the score within ten, trailing 44-54, with a free-throw from sophomore forward Courtney Blankenship. However, the Raiders responded quickly to bring the lead back to eighteen points, with a 68-45 score just three minutes later.
In the final five and a half minutes, the Raiders were relentless against the Knights. Greer make four free throws in the last minute of play for Colgate securing their 19 point win.
Head Coach Bill Clearly mentioned the strength of the defense during the game and said the team did a great job turning the defensive spots into points. He commended Thompson’s efforts.
“She just has that competitive fire and that competitive edge to want to win, and she’s going to do whatever it takes to win,” Cleary said.
Colgate now advances to 3-4 while Fairleigh Dickinson drops to 2-5. The Raiders’ three wins are nearly half of the teams total from last year. This upcoming week the Raiders will leave their home court to take on the UMass Lowell River Hawks this Wednesday, December 5, who are coming off a nine point win over Holy Cross.
The Raiders will return home on Friday, December 14 when they will take on The New Jersey Institute of Technology at 6 p.m. on Cotterell Court. The Highlanders are currently 1-8 and played Fairleigh Dickinson ealrier in the season losing 64-43 away from home. The Raiders will begin Patriot League play on January 3 at Holy Cross and will begin there home in-conference schedule on January 9 at 12 p.m. against Lafayette in their “Kids Day” Game.
Contact Lexi Luthringer at [email protected].
