Colgate Suffers First Loss This Month, 64-50 to Nine-Win Great Danes
By John Painter
(Albany, NY – Dec. 22, 2013) Colgate nearly pulled off a nifty Christmas surprise, but Albany outlasted the Raiders over the final 10 minutes to claim a 64-50 decision here Sunday.
The Great Danes, who went 27-4 overall last season and a perfect 16-0 in the America East Conference, improved to 9-2 this year and snapped a mini two-game losing streak. One of those losses was earlier this week at No. 2-ranked Duke.
The Raiders dropped to 4-6 and saw their three-game winning streak come to an end with their first loss since November.
Paige Kriftcher nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Colgate a 39-36 lead with 10:50 remaining in what to that point was a back-and-forth affair. But Albany proceeded to score the game’s next 14 points and was in control the rest of the way.
“We had a scoring drought and that that was huge, but we also gave up some big offensive rebounds,” Raiders head coach Nicci Hays Fort said. “We were only outrebounded by four (37-33), and that’s good because they are outrebounding teams by close to eight. But they scored on all their offensive rebounds.
“That was the killer and the big turning point.”
Block-Charge Call Overturned
A pair of 3-pointers from Albany’s Erin Coughlin flipped the three-point Colgate advantage to the home side, and that’s when a key play occurred.
Albany’s Tammy Phillip drove the lane and appeared to charge through Raiders forward Carole Harris. That was the call until it was overturned, with the ruling that Harris was standing within the no-charge semicircle under the basket.
Phillip missed both free throws, but super sophomore Shereesha Richards hustled the rebound and put it back for a 44-39 Great Danes lead with 7:44 to play. Richards scored again 20 seconds later on a fast break and Albany had its largest lead since early in the first half.
Richards finished with game highs of 21 points and 14 rebounds, nearly identical to her season averages.
“Our half-court defense was really spectacular,” Hays Fort said. “We just gave up some offensive rebounds around that 10-minute mark that ended up costing us.”
Albany led for most of the first half, including by as many as 15-8 at the 14:27 mark. But the Raiders rallied and forged the first tie at 19-all when Josie Stockill scored on a layup with 7:02 showing. Harris followed with a jumper and Colgate was in front 21-19 with 6:17 to play before half.
Albany led 24-23 at intermission.
Second-Half Streaks
The Great Danes scored the first two out of the break before a series of runs took place. Colgate went first on a 7-0 spurt, followed by Albany 8-0, and Colgate another 6-0 that made it 36-34 Raiders with 13:44 to play.
An Albany layup with 12:03 showing set the stage for Kriftcher’s 3-pointer and the last Colgate lead of the game. Desperation fouls and Albany free throw conversions helped make the final margin larger than the game deserved.
“Their pressure is good and they played a great zone,” Hays Fort said. “We wanted to attack inside the 3-point line and had a really hard time getting it inside. We had some really good looks; we just weren’t able to knock down shots.
“Every person who played for us had a basket, which is great. We just didn’t have anybody with a big night.”
Missy Repoli was 3-of-6 from downtown to lead the Raiders in scoring for the first time this season with nine points. Harris added eight and Stockill seven, with Mariah Jones and Catherine Lewis scoring six apiece. Harris, Stockill and Kelly Reid all posted six rebounds, and Stockill blocked a game-high three shots.
Kiwi Contest
Stockill was going against a fellow Kiwi on the court in Albany’s 6-foot-9 reserve center Megan Craig. Stockill and Craig both hail from New Zealand’s North Island and spent quite a bit of time playing against one another on the hardcourts back home.
“It was really tough playing against Megan Craig; she had a fair few inches on us,” Stockill said. “We fronted the posts really well but it was a tough matchup inside.
“Once the momentum shifted, we struggled to get it back. We could have taken care of the ball a little bit better, but we fought pretty hard.”
Colgate shot 33 percent (16-of-49) from the field, including 35 percent (7-of-19) from 3-point distance, while Albany finished at 44 percent (20-of-46) and 36 percent (5-of-14), respectively. The Raiders made 11 of 16 free-throw tries, and Albany was 19-of-30.
Colgate’s bench outscored the home side 23-7, but Albany owned the paint by a 28-12 margin and outscored the Raiders 24-9 in points-off-turnovers.
In addition to Richards, Albany received 14 points from Sarah Royals and 12 from Coughlin – all on 3-pointers. Craig added five points and six boards.
The Raiders have two more trips on this current five-game road swing, continuing Sunday at Michigan State in a 2 p.m. start. Colgate’s next home game is Jan. 5against Bucknell.
Albany 64, Colgate 50
Colgate (4-6): Kelly Reid 2, Carole Harris 8, Lauryn Kobiela 5, Mariah Jones 6, Catherine Lewis 6, Randyll Butler 4, Paige Kriftcher 3, Missy Repoli 9, Josie Stockill 7. Totals: 16-11-50.
Albany (9-2): Sarah Royals 14, Shereesha Richards 21, Erin Coughlin 12, Margarita Rosario 5, Tammy Phillip 5, Imani Tate 2, Megan Craig 5. Totals: 20-19-64.
3-Point Field Goals: Colgate 7 (Repoli 3, Lewis 2, Jones, Kriftcher); Albany 5 (Coughlin 4, Rosario).
Halftime: Albany 24-23.