The Raiders earned their second home victory in a row on Wednesday with a huge upset against Army, knocking them out of their tie for first place with a final score of 60-56. Colgate had an exciting, successful game as three guards had double figure scoring. Their standout play culminated in an incredible rally from 12 points behind with only 12 minutes remaining in the game.

Sophomore guard Mariah Jones led the Raiders’ scoring as she scored a whopping 12 of her total of 17 points after halftime. This 17-point high doubled as a team high as well, highlighting the fact that Jones’s success on Wednesday was crucial to the Colgate win. 

“It felt like we were having a lot of fun out there. We were sharing the ball, running the floor and playing really tough defense. It felt a lot like December. I’ve been in a little bit of a slump, and so has the rest of the team really. You could see that. But I hit my first shot, so I felt good about that. I had a little lull toward the end of the first half, but then I got back into it in the second half. My teammates found me, so I just kept shooting,” Jones said.

Fellow teammates senior guard Jhazmine Lynch, and junior guard Lauryn Kobiela also hit most of their double figure scores during the second half; Lynch scored nine of her 11 and Kobiela shot seven of her 10 points with little time remaining. Colgate’s success in the second half allowed them to outscore Army 39-27 during the last 20 minutes.

The first half was considerably slower than the second. The Raiders began the game with a 7-0 point run finished off with a three-pointer from Kobiela, and a layup from first year forward Josie Stockill. However after that push placing them in the lead with a score of 19-17, the Raiders were stuck scoreless for over seven minutes until Stockill hit two free throws with 1:38

remaining in the first half. 

Army, fighting to hold their spot in first place, used this to their advantage, scoring 10 points during that lull. Colgate was forced to fight from behind, starting at halftime with a score of 29-21, which quickly developed into a 12-point deficit due to excellent shooting by the Black Knights. Junior Jen Hazlett led Army’s efforts as she nailed three of the Black Knight’s three-pointers during the run. 

“We were trying to switch up some defenses and we lost some shooters a couple of times and let them hit a couple of threes. So we called timeout and went back to man,” head coach Nicci Hays Fort said. 

The switch allowed the Raiders to stop Army for the next 4:42, allowing the Colgate’s offense to take control. With 10:10 remaining, Kobiela had a sweeping drive and hit a bank shot to reduce the deficit to a mere four points. Then, sophomore forward Carole Harris came off the bench and made her second three-pointer of the night. The momentum continued as junior guard Catherine Lewis scored a three-pointer, adding to

Colgate’s now 13-point run.

Colgate took the lead 49-48 with only 7:38 left to play. Army countered with a three-point lead, followed by Jones with yet another three-pointer tying the score 52-all with just over six minutes remaining. Just as the Raiders pushed three more points, sophomore Olivia Schretzman scored with a layup decreasing the margin to only one point. 

Kobiela passed to Harris who was able to score on a bank-shot that raised their lead to 58-55 with 1:57 left to play. Although Hazlett was fouled just a minute later, she missed her only shot of the second half and made one of her two free throws. Colgate ran down the clock as they led 58-56 with only 25.8 seconds remaining. Army couldn’t regain control of the score, and Colgate earned its second home victory in a row. 

“We’re peaking at the right time, which is good for us. We’re slowly building back up. We have a streak at home and that’s really good for us,” Jones said. 

This victory was the Raiders’s best game of the season as they finished with 42.3 shooting percentage, and shot an impressive 56 percent during the second half. This leaves Colgate 8-18 overall and 2-9 in the Patriot League. 

The Raiders will continue their second round of league play as they travel to Lafayette on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. start, and return home to Cotterell Court to play Holy Cross for a 4 p.m. tip off.