By John Painter
(West Point, NY – March 7, 2013) Colgate’s biggest win of the season now has an encore.
The eighth-seeded Raiders knocked off Patriot League regular season champion Army 48-40 here Thursday night to advance to the conference semifinal round. It marks only the second time in league history that No. 8 has defeated No. 1 since the tournament began in 1991.
It’s also the second time this season Colgate took down the 22-win Black Knights, and it was the program’s first victory at Christl Arena since 2002 – snapping a 12-game losing streak on Academy grounds. The Raiders defeated Army 60-56 back on Feb. 20 in Hamilton.
Colgate’s 10th victory of the season propels the Raiders to a Monday night clash at Holy Cross.
“Wow. I’m just so happy for the team because they’ve had to overcome so much adversity this year,” Raiders head coach Nicci Hays Fort said. “We knew we weren’t the team that started out the Patriot League season oh so badly.”
That 0-8 beginning to the conference schedule seems well in the rearview mirror for a squad that suddenly has won four of its last seven.
“Maybe the basketball gods are rolling our favor right now,” Hays Fort said. “We’re playing with a little bit of mojo, like we’ve got a little of our swagger back.
“Tonight was all about this team’s heart and effort. With everything we’ve had to overcome even in just the last couple of weeks, it was just a true credit to them.”
Jhazmine Lynch led all scorers with 15 points, while Randyll Butler nearly turned her first career start into her first career double-double. The freshman guard finished with nine points and 10 boards as Colgate outrebounded Army 31-17 in the second half for a 44-36 game edge.
“I found out two days ago,” Butler said of her new role. “It wasn’t that big of a deal because we don’t really have starters on this team. Everybody is in and out, and I practice with them all the time.
“We knew Army was great competition. We knew it was going to be a tough game. But we said this wasn’t going to be our last game, so we wanted to leave it all out on the court.”
Early Deficit Overcome
After spotting Army a 9-0 jumpstart over the initial five minutes, Colgate seemed to recall that its first two games against the Black Knights were nail-biters.
“I said, ‘Hey guys, all we need is a basket,’ Hays Fort said. “And sure enough, Josie (Stockill) scores and we get right back in it. Army came out ultra-physical and it really frustrated us at first. All we needed was a basket and we were fine.”
Stockill put an end to the opening run with her put-back bucket, and that sparked the Raiders to 11 straight points of their own and an 11-9 lead by the 10:59 mark. Kelsey Minato’s wide-open jumper ended the Colgate spurt and was the first two for the Patriot League’s dual trophy winner.
Minato reached double figures for the 15th straight game against a Patriot League opponent, but it was a close call. She scored just 10 points for her lowest total since she had three on Jan. 6 at Morgan State. Before the game, Minato accepted the Patriot League’s Player and Rookie of the Year awards alongside Coach of the Year Dave Magarity and Defensive Player of the Year Anna Simmers.
“Those awards were all well-deserved,” Lynch said. “But playing against the No. 1 seed was the most important thing about tonight. I always appreciate being the underdog, and I was playing with nothing to lose. It gave us more incentive to take it right to them.”
Colgate’s offense went into a three-plus minute drought, but Lynch made that go away with an arching 3-pointer and the Raiders were back into the lead at 14-13 with 7:45 left. Colgate put together its own solid defensive stretch, holding Army scoreless for nearly four minutes late in the half.
That set the stage for a pair of 3-pointers in the last 90 seconds from first Lynch and then Catherine Lewis. The Raiders led 24-23 at intermission, their first halftime lead of the year against the Black Knights.
“I really didn’t know how that would carry over, because Army is really good,” Hays Fort said. “I was hoping it wasn’t just a first-half thing for us and we were going to be able to come out in the second half still playing our game.”
Colgate did more than just that. The Raiders stormed out of the locker room and scored the first five points, three on a Kobiela bomb just nine seconds in and two more off a slicing Butler drive to the hoop.
“We run a play, not for Lauryn, and Lauryn buries a three to start,” Hays Fort said shaking her head. “We wanted to win the first media, and we dominated that first media timeout. It was the difference in the game just for our own confidence.”
Teams Trade 10-Point Runs
Slowly the Raiders built their cushion until Lynch hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game to make it 39-26 to cap a 10-0 run. When the clock dipped under the midway point of the second half, Colgate’s defense had held Army scoreless for seven precious minutes off the clock.
But trailing 41-28 with 8:23 left – that score by virtue of a nice give-and-go from Kobiela to Harris – the No. 1 seed finally started living up to billing and reeled off its own 10-0 rally over the next 5½ minutes. Jen Hazlett, who blitzed Colgate for 22 points in Hamilton, scored seven straight during this stretch and then Simmers nailed a three to cut it to 41-38 with still 4:02 left.
Lynch ended the drought by making one of two free throws with 2:46 remaining. After another defensive stop, Kobiela used a Lulu Brase screen to convert a reverse layup and Colgate had 44-38 breathing room with 2 minutes to play.
Simmers’ lay-in with 1:41 remaining was the final Army basket, as Colgate converted free throws and a Carole Harris hoop at the buzzer for the final margin.
Colgate’s eight-point victory was the most decisive of the four Patriot League quarterfinal games played Thursday. Navy beat Lafayette in overtime, 59-55; Bucknell won at American, 46-43; and Holy Cross knocked off Lehigh, 64-59.
The Raiders’ rebounding edge was huge, but Colgate also outshot its hosts 35 percent to 25 percent. That included limiting the Black Knights to just 5-of-30 from the field after halftime.
Still, rebounds were significant.
“We beat Army at our place and they still pounded us on the boards,” Hays Fort said. “We beat Lafayette and yet they pounded us on the boards. This was not a game we were going to win if we got beat on the boards.
“We knew how tough and how physical Army was, but we had to win the rebounding. If we made them miss shots, we couldn’t give them two, three, four looks. They are too good.”
In addition to Lynch and Butler, Colgate received six points apiece from Kobiela, Lewis and Harris. Brase finished with seven rebounds and two blocks, while Kobiela dished out four assists and grabbed four boards.
Colgate’s bench outscored their Army counterparts 14-0 in this game, and the Raiders won that battle 54-2 over the season’s three games.
“We obviously play more kids than they do, but we keep getting huge contributions throughout our entire roster,” Hays Fort said.
All-Time Scoring Low for No. 1 Seed
Simmers scored 13, Hazlett 11 and Minato 10 for Army, which fell to 22-8 for the season. The Black Knights made just eight field goals the first half and five in the second, and Army finished 3-of-14 from 3-point distance.
Army’s point total of 40 was the lowest by a No. 1 seed in a Patriot League quarterfinal game by 15 points, easily undercutting Navy’s 55-36 win over Colgate two years ago.
“I went with our best defensive lineup and it paid off big,” Hays Fort said. “Randyll Butler – she had quite a night for her first start. Jhaz hit some huge shots, and her defense on Minato was unbelievable. We didn’t really let Minato do anything.”
Lynch increased her career scoring total to 1,197, and she’s more than happy to have, not only a crack at 1,200, but a crack at the conference semifinals.
“It’s my last year and I was trying to have fun,” the senior said. “It was a very emotional game. I’m glad I made it past the first round – finally!”
Colgate, now 10-20, takes on Holy Cross this Monday at 7 p.m. The Raiders are in the Patriot League semifinals for the first time since the 2007 squad knocked off top-seeded Bucknell.
But Colgate lost by 23 points to American in that semifinal six years ago, and the Raiders are 0-25 all time at Holy Cross. The Crusaders swept the season series this year, including a 71-61 decision in Worcester.
“We obviously just came off a really emotional game against Holy Cross, losing to them at the buzzer,” Hays Fort said of last Saturday’s Senior Day. “Our team hasn’t forgotten that, but we’re going to savor this victory first.”
Colgate 48, Army 40
Colgate (10-20): Kelly Reid 2, Lulu Brase 2, Lauryn Kobiela 6, Jhazmine Lynch 15, Randyll Butler 9, Catherine Lewis 6, Josie Stockill 2. Totals: 18-5-48.
Army (22-8): Olivia Schretsman 2, Aimee Oertner 4, Jen Hazlett 11, Kelsey Minato 10, Anna Simmers 13. Totals: 13-11-40.
3-Point Field Goals: Colgate 7 (Lynch 4, Lewis 2, Kobiela); Army 3 (Simmers 2, Hazlett).
Halftime: Colgate 24-23.