With their 83-64 victory on Saturday, March 1 against American University, the Colgate University women’s basketball team won their 22nd game of the season, a new program record. The Raiders are 7-1 since Feb. 1 and have established themselves as legitimate contenders in the Patriot League. Saturday’s win was their 12th in the Patriot League this season, also a program record.
Junior guard Anne Bair said that the team’s on-court success always depends on their dedication on the defensive end.
“We’re just playing for each other, and everything always starts for us on the defensive end, so just toughness, intensity, passion, heart defensively and then how that can lead to our offense,” Bair said.
Bair, who had 22 points in the win over American, has scored in double figures in nine of the last ten games, and her 12.7 points per game average is second on the Raiders.
The Raiders coaching staff, led by head coach Ganiyat Adeduntan, has played a large part in the team’s success this season, according to junior guard/forward Christina Midgette.
“Every single part of our coaching staff works extremely hard to prepare us for each game,” Midgette said. “The belief that we have in them, it didn’t just start yesterday. It started over the summer, when we committed, just believing in what they’re telling us, because if we don’t believe in what they’re telling us, it’s not going to show up on the court.”
The Raiders’ effort is evident on the court as they fight to improve their 22-8 record — something that sophomore forward/guard Amarah Streiff attributes to the team’s understanding that each player has a unique role.
“Regardless of what role you may play on this team – whether you’re playing 40 minutes, you’re playing 20 minutes, you’re cheering people on from the bench — everybody has a role on this team, and your role is important, and we have to play each role to the best of our ability,” Streiff said.
Streiff credits her teammates for their coachability and for giving their best every day. She shared that her coaches emphasize scouting each opponent’s strengths and weaknesses in order to expose them on the court — a tactic that puts the team in the best position to make plays happen.
The team’s belief in themselves has been central to their success this season. Midgette pointed to the Raiders’ non-conference schedule as a confidence booster, particularly a game on the road against UCLA in November. While the team lost, Midgette said the Raiders matched up well against the Bruins, who were ranked No. 5 in the country at the time.
“It does show you the potential and what we can do as a team,” Midgette said. “So proving it to ourselves in games and seeing what we’ve been able to accomplish lets us know that we have everything we need to get what we want.”
Streiff echoed that sentiment, saying that the Raiders know they can compete against other top teams.
“I think that goes to show that with confidence and belief, we can take on anyone,” Streiff said.
Colgate went undefeated for the first three weeks of February, ripping off six straight wins to open the month before falling 59-55 to Holy Cross on Feb. 26. Of Colgate’s seven victories in February, six of them have been by at least 10 points, something that Bair says gives the team confidence heading toward the Patriot League tournament, which starts on Sunday, March 8.
“That six-game win streak we had and just playing some really, really good basketball is definitely going to give us confidence into the tournament with whoever we match up with,” Bair said.
The Raiders will get a bye in the Patriot League tournament after clinching the third seed, meaning they won’t play a tournament game until the quarterfinal round, on Monday, March 10, against the team that finishes sixth in the regular season standings.
Bair said the team’s goal is to win the Patriot League tournament and earn a bid into March Madness, which is something they have been working toward since the summer.
“Coach [Adeduntan] talks about it all the time; you can want it to happen, but what are you gonna do in order to get there? You have to work every single day for it. And I think our group’s been doing a really, really good job of that,” Bair said.
Streiff said that the team is hungry for postseason play and that the confidence and belief they have in themselves will carry them once they get there, making them a definite contender for the Patriot League tournament title.
“I think this team is extremely special, and I also think we haven’t reached our full potential, which is scary, like Colgate could be a nightmare within basketball,” Streiff said.
Bair, Midgette, Streiff and the Raiders will look to continue their outstanding season in the Patriot League tournament with a quarterfinal game on March 10. If they win that game, they will play in the semifinal on March 13. The Patriot League tournament final is scheduled for March 16. Colgate made it to the semifinal round of the Patriot League tournament last year and is well positioned to make a run at the 2025 tournament title in the coming weeks.
