The Raiders opened up their season this past weekend with two matchups. After dueling rival Cornell Big Red Friday night and falling just short, ‘Gate returned home to take on the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in its home opener.

Opening their season on the road at Cornell, the Raiders fell in a hole early and could not recover. After senior guard Lauryn Kobiela tied up the game at seven early in the first half, the Big Red then took over, scoring the next 12 points and taking a commanding lead. The Raiders could not, however, come back from that deficit as they were down 20 points at halftime. Shooting just 22 percent from the field in the first half, the Raiders were unable to find their shot. The Big Red, on the other hand, worked the ball around and found their open shots as they shot 53 percent.

Colgate recovered in the second half and outscored the Big Red, but not by enough to make up for its first half woes. Scoring 37 to the Big Red’s 31, the Raiders were led by sophomore guard Paige Kriftcher who came up the bench with 13 points, including three three-pointers. Kobiela also finished the game with 12 points and four assists, but lost her handle with seven turnovers in 18 minutes of action.Junior forward Kelly Reid had a tough night shooting just 1-7 from the field, but came up with nine rebounds. Junior forward Carole Harris also pitched in with seven as the Raiders ended up out rebounding the Big Red on the night.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, who recovered from their tough first half, the Big Red picked up the victory by a score of 76-62.The Raiders were back at work Sunday afternoon as they hosted the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. In a close battle throughout, the Raiders faltered down the stretch and lost the matchup 77-72. The Raiders showed big improvements from their loss to the Big Red. The Raiders and Bonnies both had strong first halves, shooting 43 percent  from the field with the Bonnies holding a slight 34-30 lead. The Bonnies found their way to the line a lot in the first half, shooting 11 free throws compared to the measly one for the Raiders. On the afternoon, the Raiders committed 30 personal fouls, something the Raiders hope to improve on in their next outing.

Big three-pointers from Kobiela and senior guard Catherine Lewis kept the game close late in the first half, and Colgate additionally got a big spark from junior guard Mariah Jones. Jones, who received the start, played 23 minutes and picked up 23 big points for the Raiders leading them on the afternoon. Jones also had four assists and one steal, one of the Raiders’ 10 on the afternoon. While the Raiders shot well from the field again in the second half, the story of the game seemed to be the ability for the Bonnies to get to the free throw line and hit their free throws. The Bonnies were 21-26 from the stripe in the second half, and held a large advantage compared to the 16 free throws the Raiders took.Down the stretch, the Raiders cut the Bonnies’ lead to within three, but could not get any closer and picked up the loss. Despite the loss, the Raiders again looked strong inside with Harris pitching in with nine rebounds and eight points. Off the bench, junior guard Missy Repoli had another strong game scoring 16 points including 3-4 from three-point territory.Despite the Raiders two losses, the team showed vast improvements over just a two day stretch against tough competition. The Raiders return to action this Saturday, November 16, as they hit the road yet again to take on St. Francis (PA).

Contact Spencer Serling at [email protected].