Box Score

HAMILTON, NY— Despite a strong start to the game, the Leopards could not fend off a feisty Colgate team on Wednesday evening, falling by a final score of 60-55 to close out the regular season.

The Maroon and White were led by the freshman duo of Natalie Kucowski and Olivia Martino, who finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Summer King and Mackenzie Carroll paced the Raiders with 17 points apiece. Lafayette led for the majority of the contest, but a late run by Colgate proved to be the difference.

The Leopards controlled the flow of the game in the first quarter, opening the contest on an 11-2 over the first five minutes. Kucowski started and finished the run, closing out the barrage with a strong finish through a foul in the post to put the Leopards up nine heading into the media timeout. Martino added a three to make it 14-6, but King responded for the Raiders, cutting the Leopards lead to 14-8 heading into the second quarter.

Colgate came roaring back to start the second stanza, knotting the score at 20-20 after outscoring the Maroon and white 12-6 over the first 6:04. After Keelah Dixon gave the Raiders their first lead of the game following the media timeout, the Leopards responded by rattling off seven-straight points punctuated by a three from Sarah Agnello. Colgate added another lay-in to end the quarter as the Leopards headed into the halftime break holding onto a slim 27-25 lead.

The teams traded blows coming out of the halftime break, but the Leopards were able to maintain their lead, outscoring Colgate 18-17 in the third quarter. Another triple from Agnello put the Leopards up by eight with 5:10 to go in the quarter, but that lead didn't last as Dixon knotted the score at 40-40 at the two minute mark. Lafayette ended the quarter with a free throw from Alex Cantwell that put the Maroon and White up 45-42 heading into the fourth quarter.

Colgate struck while the iron was hot in the fourth quarter, closing the game on a 12-3 run to seal the victory. The Leopards took a 54-46 lead off of a pull-up jumper from Martino, but they weren't able to fend off the Raiders, as Carroll drained three shots from behind the arc to put Colgate up for good.

Turnovers plagued the Leopards once again, as Colgate turned the miscues into 23 points. The Maroon and White had a better night from the floor than the home side, outshooting the raiders 43 percent to 40 percent. Colgate edged Lafayette on the boards, 32-29.

With the loss, the Leopards move to 6-12 in league play and will be the eighth seed in the Patirot League Tournament Lafayette will welcome Boston U. to Kirby Sports Center on Saturday, March 3, to open the first round. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.