Women’s Basketball Splits Weekend Play

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This week, the Colgate women’s basket­ball team split its games against a pair of Pa­triot League foes, falling to Holy Cross 62-51 and toppling Navy 59-55. This was the first conference loss for the Navy Midshipmen. Overall, the Colgate team has a 7-14 record and is 2-5 in conference play.

On Wednesday, the Raiders quickly found themselves on the bottom of a 6-0 score as Holy Cross jumped to an early lead. The first half was a constant back-and-forth of mo­mentum shifts and aggressive offensive drives. Colgate first got on the board at 15:25 on a two-point shot by junior Tricia Oakes. Oakes had 11 points on the day and recorded four re­bounds. Also scoring 11 was senior Tayler We­jnert, who had team-high of seven rebounds during the game. Within 20 seconds of its first score, Colgate had tied the game at six. On the very next play, Colgate took the lead. That lead would not last, however, as Holy Cross fought back to tie the score at 14 at the 10:29 mark. Holy Cross had found its stride and pushed eight more points across the board, taking a 22-14 lead with six minutes left until the half. Holy Cross would hold its lead going into half time, remaining ahead 33-25.

In the second half, the Raiders put togeth­er a 9-2 run, taking the score to 35-34. For the next five minutes, both teams fought to break the other’s rhythm as they traded bas­kets. The scoring differential hovered around one basket until, with eight minutes left on the clock, Holy Cross found an edge and ex­tended its lead to nine. The Crusaders would go on to win 62-51.

Against Navy, Wejnert had another spec­tacular night earning her first double-double as she scored 19, rebounded 11 and stole three. Sophomore Jhazmine Lynch racked up 14 points and three steals while senior Sami Kozlowski achieved the 1,000 career-point mark on her eight points during the game. After three minutes, Colgate had a 5-2 ad­vantage, but Navy quickly bounced back to the tune of a 6-4 run and an 11-7 lead at 12:52. Although Colgate tied the score only a minute later, the Midshipmen were able to regain the lead. The game entered half time with Navy up 27-19.

“The entire team did great in prepar­ing for Navy,” Head Coach Pam Bass said. “In the first half we got the open shots we wanted and they simply didn’t fall. In the sec­ond half we got those same great looks and hit the shots. In addition, we reduced our unforced turnovers. The first five minutes of the second half were huge for us. We set the tone and put Navy on their heels for the remainder of the half.”

“This was a tremendous win for the team,” Coach Bass added. “The confidence that comes with beating the first place team on their home court is priceless. At this stage of the year as we enter the sec­ond round of round robin play, every team knows each other (personnel, offensive-defensive strengths, etc). Each game comes down to who wants it more, who believes and demonstrates with their play that they will win more, and who executes game plans better. To have proven to ourselves that we can beat the best in the league is irreplace­able. To have the mental edge of confidence is awesome.”

In a similar scene to the first half, Col­gate struck first early in the second. The Raiders, however, did not relinquish their momentum, leading throughout the half. Despite several surges by the Midship­men, Colgate held a 33-31 lead at 12:06, and an eight-point advantage with three minutes remaining. Navy closed the defi­cit to three, but Colgate outlasted its drive, winning 59-55.

This upcoming Saturday the Raiders will travel to West Point, New York to take on Army at 1 p.m. Next Wednesday, Colgate will visit Lafayette for a 7 p.m. contest.