Jan. 12, 2011
Box Score
HAMILTON, N.Y. - Two furious second-half rallies from the Lafayette women's basketball team fell short as host Colgate used a 22-1 run in the first half to take a lead it would not relinquish en route to taking a 64-60 decision. Senior co-captain LaKeisha Wright scored a game-high 16 points for the Leopards, propelling herself into 10th place on the program's all-time scoring list.
With the loss, Lafayette falls to 7-10 overall and 0-2 in Patriot League play. Colgate evens its league record at 1-1 and improves to 5-10 on the season.
With her game-high scoring output, Wright moves past Beth Mowins '89 with 1,171 career points and into the top 10. She is seven points shy of the ninth slot held by Theresa O'Donnell '90.
Sophomore Ashley Springer joined Wright in double figures with a career-high 13 points. As a team, the Leopards shot just 18-for-57 (31.6 percent) from the field, 4-for-14 (28.6 percent) from three-point range and 20-for-27 (74.1 percent) from the free throw line.
Freshman Madeline Fahan had a team-high seven rebounds in addition to eight points as the Leopards were outworked, 40-39, on the boards. The Leopards won the turnover battle, 20-19, but Colgate managed 21 points off of the Leopards' miscues as compared to 13 point-off-turnovers scored by Lafayette.
In the first half, a three-pointer from sophomore Alicia Manning gave the Leopards a two-possession lead at 12-8 with 10:58 to play, but that trey would be Lafayette's last field goal for over seven minutes, as Colgate went on a 22-1 run to build a 30-13 lead. The Leopards battled back over the final 3:12 of the half - sparked by eight points from Springer - to enter the locker room with a more manageable deficit, trailing 36-25.
Lafayette came out hot in the second half, putting together a 15-4 to open the frame that cut the deficit to just one point at 40-39. The home team battled back, however, netting the next nine points to extend the lead back to double figures at 49-39 with 12:37 to play. The margin stayed between 10 and 14 points for the next 10 minutes, settling at 62-51 with 2:27 remaining. The Leopards had one more run in them, netting the next seven points to pull within five at 62-57 with 36 seconds to go. Colgate missed a free throw on its next trip, and Springer then sank one from the stripe to cut the margin to four points. The Raiders were true on their next two foul shots, extended their lead back to six at 64-58 with under 10 seconds remaining. Fahan sank two free throws with time winding down, but the rally ultimately fell short at Colgate held on to a 64-60 win.
Tricia Oakes, who did not play due to injury in the Raiders' last five games (all losses), scored a team-high 15 points. Kelly Korkowski neared a double-double for Colgate with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Leopards are back in action on Saturday, traveling to Annapolis, Md. to meet the United States Naval Academy. Tip-off from Alumni Hall is slated for 7 p.m.
Notes: Junior Melissa Downey and senior co-captain Elizabeth Virgin were both inactive due to injury.
