The Colgate women’s basketball team secured a huge win against Navy 62-60 at home this weekend to thrill a full home gym for Senior Night.

The game boosted the Raiders’ spirits as the women came off a loss on the road to Army just days before (62-47) when the team struggled with free throws and a loss of confidence in the second half.

Although first-year guard Missy Re­poli led the Raiders with 17 points, the team couldn’t keep up with the Black Knights.

The women stepped onto the court on Saturday to take on the Midshipmen with a revived desire to win. The atmo­sphere on the court was visibly more en­couraging as the women never let Navy have a lead over ten points.

Colgate’s elevated play was matched by a push to speed up the pace and the Raiders were able to show both the Mids and the fans that they were a force to be reckoned with. All three seniors on Col­gate’s team scored in the double-digits. Kelly Korkowski scored a career high of 18 points with 7 rebounds, while Tricia Oakes put up 16 points with 7 rebounds and Candice Green added 10 points, 5 rebounds and a game high of 6 as­sists. Green was not only a key player throughout the game, but with 18 sec­onds left in regulation and a score of 59- 60, she hit a game winning three-point­er to put the win in the Raiders’ hands. This win was a team effort and showed marked improvement for Colgate at this juncture in the season.

With the Raiders shooting 44 per­cent and holding the Mids to only 42 percent, the game was won with sheer determination and accuracy. The wom­en also forced 11 turnovers and only gave up 7 of their own. The final score was 62-60.

The Colgate seniors have all been with the team since their first year and have been important members since the start. Candice Green started in all 30 games of the 2008-2009 season, be­ing named Patriot League rookie of the week twice and led the entire team with a 84.6 free-throw percentage. Green also has been the team captain for the last two seasons. Kelly Korkowski played in 27 games during her premier season as a Colgate Raider.

She also led the team in points dur­ing their game against Lehigh. So far this season, Korkowski has attained her first double-double of her career and has scored in the double-digits in four games. Tricia Oakes had an injury during part of freshman year, but still managed to start in 21 games. She was named Patriot League rookie of the week six times and was placed on the Patriot League All-Rookie team. Also, Oakes led the team in rebounding and blocked shots during the 2008-2009 season.

With the win against Navy, the wom­en now have a record of 7-20 overall, and a Patriot League record of 4-14. Coming up, the Raiders team will compete against Holy Cross on February 25 before head­ing into the Patriot League tournament starting March 1.

Contact Katie Rydell at

[email protected].