WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Colgate women’s basketball team defeated American 79-61 in a tough physical battle at Bender Arena on Sunday to avenge its one-point loss to the Eagles earlier this season. The Raiders moved back into a tie for first place in the Patriot League with the victory.
The score was neck-and-neck throughout the first 15 minutes of play with three ties and three lead exchanges. The Raiders then moved out to a 33-21 lead after scoring 12 uncontested points in a period of two minutes. American managed just three points in the final six minutes of the half and Colgate carried a 35-24 advantage into the locker room.
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The Eagles shot 39.1 percent on 9-of-23 from the field and 20.0 percent from three-point range making one-of-five attempts. Colgate held the advantage in rebounds with 23 to American’s 14 and the Raiders committed 14 turnovers while forcing 15.
Colgate came out of the blocks hard scoring the first six points of the half to increase their lead to 41-24 with remaining. The Raiders then outscored American 13-8 over the next five minutes to increase the gap to 22 points. The Eagles were unable to chip away at Colgate’s lead down the stretch and the Raiders picked up the 79-61 victory.
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Milaina Lagzdins (Burlinton, Ont.) registered her second straight double-double and fifth of the season with 14 points and a career-high 19 boards. Chigozie Ozor (
Leandra Fuller (
Chanel Hunt led the Eagles with 19 points and seven rebounds. Kim Salem and Chanel Spriggs added 10 points apiece to the effort.
The Raiders improve to 16-9 on the season and 8-4 in the Patriot League while American falls to 13-12 overall and 8-4 in conference play. Colgate will close out regular season next weekend at home with a Friday night match-up against Lehigh at followed by a game against Bucknell on Sunday.