![\"ColgateD8810\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/ColgateD8810.jpg?resize=226%2C159\")
<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n(Hamilton, NY \u2013 Jan. 30, 2013) \u00a0It was just too much of a mountain to climb.<\/p>\n
Lafayette was too tall on the inside and the halftime deficit too much to overcome as Colgate dropped a 53-45 Patriot League game here Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
Not even the shock return of center Lulu Brase could put the Raiders over the edge against the taller Leopards, who won their second straight game while Colgate\u2019s losing streak moved to seven.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t find out until Tuesday,\u201d said Brase, who on Jan. 11 was ruled out for the rest of the season with a stress fracture in her knee. \u201cI got a second opinion and found out Tuesday. It was a surprise to me too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brase contributed four points and three rebounds in 17 minutes, but she drew a difficult assignment finding daylight against a Lafayette front line that included 6-foot-7 Danielle Fiacco and 6-foot-3 Emily Homan.<\/p>\n
Fiacco finished with 10 points, seven boards and three blocked shots, while Homan added eight points and five caroms to help the Leopards produce a 49-40 rebounding edge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew that coming in,\u201d Colgate head coach Nicci Hays Fort said of the challenge. \u201cFiacco is third in the country in blocked shots, and Homan is really good. The point guard\u2019s pretty good too.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s freshman Jamie O\u2019Hare, who led all scorers with 15 points.<\/p>\n
Repoli Rebounds<\/b><\/p>\n
Colgate finished without a player in double figures. The Raiders were paced by eight points apiece from Lauryn Kobiela and Kelly Reid, while Missy Repoli added seven points to go with a career-high nine rebounds. Colgate tallied one more field goal than Lafayette, but was outscored 16-6 at the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to do the little things,\u201d Repoli said. \u201cWhen my shot\u2019s not falling, you\u2019ve got to do something else while you\u2019re out there. You\u2019ve got to play good defense and get rebounds where you can.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad my shot has started to come back a little bit, and we attacked great today. We just weren\u2019t able to finish them. We\u2019ve just got to figure out how to close out the games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both teams posted 7-0 runs in the opening half. Lafayette went first for a 13-8 advantage, and then Colgate answered a few minutes later to close within 18-17 on Kobiela\u2019s jumper in the paint with 6:47 remaining. Kobiela\u2019s scoring total was her best since a season-high 11 last month against Saint Francis.<\/p>\n
But the Leopards responded with a 14-0 run that nearly extended into the locker room if not for Paige Kriftcher\u2019s buzzer-beater. The intermission score was 32-19, Lafayette.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told the team this is what we\u2019ve got to figure out: How do we come out where\u00a0we\u00a0get the quick and efficient start?\u201d Hays Fort said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to have more head, heart and guts \u2013 more gumption \u2013 to start the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had 11 turnovers in the first half and six in the second, and two of those were on the first two possessions of the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three Holes Too Deep<\/b><\/p>\n
Wednesday marked the third straight home game where Colgate faced a huge hole at halftime: Lehigh led 38-22, and Navy was on top 31-15.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to figure out how we can play like the second half in the first half,\u201d Repoli said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to figure out different little things to fix.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colgate\u2019s defense clamped down on their visitors to begin the final period. Lafayette didn\u2019t break into the second-half scoring column until Fiacco dropped a pair of free throws with 14:54 showing on the clock. But Colgate had managed only two points of its own during that dry stretch, and the lead was still double digits.<\/p>\n
The Raiders closed within eight by the 5-minute mark, and were four down with 2 minutes to play when O\u2019Hare answered with her second 3-pointer to ice the game. Lafayette improved to 9-12 overall and 2-4 in the Patriot League; Colgate is 6-14 and 0-6.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain, we did some really good things tonight,\u201d Hays Fort said. \u201c\u201cI thought we battled. Missy having nine rebounds is huge for us. Lauren Kobiela had a really good game. Kelly Reid again \u2013 seven rebounds and four offensive rebounds against those big kids is really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we dug ourselves a hole. They shot a lot of free throws in the second half (made 12 of 18). A lot of those were from offensive rebounds or drives. Lafayette\u2019s second-chance (15) and points off turnovers (18) \u2013 huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bracing for More<\/b><\/p>\n
So the feel-good story of the night belonged to Brase, Colgate\u2019s senior captain whose sudden end to her collegiate playing career has turned into possibly a few more chances to play the game she loves. Thanks to a special brace \u2013 one worn Wednesday and an even better one that\u2019s on the way \u2013 Brase may get one more run through the Patriot League circuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was able to see another orthopedic specialist, who was impressed that the irritation in her knee had settled down,\u201d Colgate team physician Dr. Merrill Miller said in describing the change of diagnosis. \u201cHe thought that with a special brace, she could see if she was able to get back to sports on a limited basis.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd in terms of Lulu herself, she is one of the nicest, toughest and most determined people I\u2019ve ever met. I would want her on my team for any project in life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller also praised the cooperation of Hays Fort, who is willing for Brase to complete her Colgate career on the student-athlete\u2019s terms \u2013 even if that means following a different practice and playing regimen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might be a game-by-game thing; it might be where she doesn\u2019t practice at all,\u201d Hays Fort said. \u201cBut she\u2019s willing to give it a try.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is, indeed. And neither Brase nor the Raiders have given up on a 2013 turnaround.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team\u2019s doing well,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re still trying to find out who we were. As Coach keeps saying, we\u2019re kind of a work in progress. We\u2019re trying to put the pieces together.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe keep putting together good second halves. We\u2019ve got to find a way to start the game off well and hold it for 40 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That next chance comes Saturday at Holy Cross. Start time is 1 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got better today,\u201d Hays Fort said. \u201cWe were a lot better than we were against Navy. Now we\u2019ve got to be a lot better at Holy Cross.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lafayette 53, Colgate 45<\/p>\n
Lafayette (9-12, 2-4):\u00a0Linnel Macklin 9, Jamie O\u2019Hare 15, Emily Homan 8, Madeline Fahan 2, Maddie Peabody 4, Ashley Springer 2, Danielle Fiacco 10, Kelly Loughney 3.\u00a0Totals:\u00a017-16-53.<\/p>\n
Colgate (6-14, 0-6):\u00a0Lauryn Kobiela 8, Jhazmine Lynch 2, Catherine Lewis 3, Kelly Reid 8, Missy Repoli 7, Randyll Butler 2, Mariah Jones 3, Lulu Brase 4, Paige Kriftcher 3, Josie Stockill 3, Carole Harris 2.\u00a0Totals:\u00a018-6-45.<\/p>\n
3-Point Field Goals:\u00a0Lafayette 3 (O\u2019Hare 2, Macklin); Colgate 3 (Lewis, Repoli, Jones).<\/p>\n
Halftime:\u00a0Lafayette 32-19.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lauryn Kobiela scored eight points for Colgate Wednesday night against Lafayette at Cotterell Court. (Photo by Bob Cornell) By John Painter\u00a0 (Hamilton, NY \u2013 Jan. 30, 2013) \u00a0It was just too much of a mountain to climb. Lafayette was too tall on the inside and the halftime deficit too much to overcome as Colgate dropped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43meu-aQ7","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41671\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}