Final Stats

HAMILTON, N.Y. - A dominant second-half performance by Colgate helped lift the Raiders past the Lafayette women's basketball team 76-69 on Friday night in the Patriot League opener at Cotterell Court.

In a tightly-contested conference opener, the Raiders (4-8, 1-0 PL) leaned on senior Katie Curtis and sophomore Chelsey Koren to help them gain a large lead in the second half and eventually seal the victory over the Leopards (1-12, 0-1 PL).

Curtis had two points in the first half, but then erupted for 20 in the second, tying teammate Kateri Stone for a game-high 22 points. Koren went scoreless in the first before going off for 15 in the second. As a team, Colgate shot 66 percent in the third quarter and 75 percent in the fourth.

For the Leopards, it was Sarah Agnello who was in rhythm all night, burying shots from beyond the arc and finding quality looks at the basket. The freshman guard went for a career-high 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field while knocking down four shots from deep.

Despite only taking 44 shots in the game, the Raiders still put plenty of points on the board by getting to the charity stripe where they went 26-of-39.

Junior Sammy Stipa looked sharp early, scoring the first basket of the game and then connecting on a shot from deep a few minutes later to put the Leopards up 7-4. During that span, Stipa also contributed on the defensive end, drawing a charge and picking up a steal.

The Leopards focused on attacking the rim and found success, scoring 12 of their first 16 points from inside the painted area. Once sophomore Angela Ribarich was inserted into the game she utilized her size over the Colgate defenders and in the final minute of the opening quarter, she scored and converted a three-point play to give the Leopards a 16-10 advantage heading into the second.

Colgate cut the Lafayette lead to five, 22-17, with under seven minutes to go in the half, but Agnello knocked down a 3-pointer and Gumbs powered her way to the rim for the score to put the Maroon and White up by 10.

Lafayette was able to generate more looks at the basket and hold its first half lead by forcing turnovers and by being aggressive on the offensive glass. For the game, the Leopards forced 22 Colgate turnovers and outrebounded the Raiders 19-4 in offensive rebounds. There were plenty of second chance opportunities for Lafayette and as a team, the Leopards took 38 more shots than Colgate in the game.

The Lafayette size advantage suddenly became a nonfactor though as four Leopards, including three of the bigs, picked up two fouls around the midway point of the second quarter. The Leopards were forced to go small and over the course of a three-minute span, Colgate held the Lafayette offense to just one point until Agnello hit her second three of the game.

Alex Cantwell stepped up during that time by effectively crashing the boards. The sophomore ended her night with a career-high 11 rebounds in the game.

Colgate came onto the court for the second half looking to push and the Raiders grabbed a 34-32 lead by using an 8-0 run, but Lafayette answered once Agnello was wide open in the right corner and buried a shot from long range to help the Leopards retake the lead.

The Leopards and Raiders traded baskets for several minutes, but a 14-1 Colgate run over the final three minutes of the third quarter put the Raiders on top 55-45. The Raiders would add to their lead with five unanswered points to start the fourth quarter, but once again an Agnello three halted the Colgate run.

With over four minutes remaining in the game the Raiders led 68-54, but the Leopards began to chip away and following a Maia Hood three with just over a minute left to play, the lead was cut to six. However, Colgate countered with a three of its own and iced the game at the free-throw line.

The Leopards will return to action when they host Loyola on Monday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. at Kirby Sports Center.