The women’s basketball team fell to Colgate University by a score of 75-44 on Saturday following an abysmal second half that saw the Leopards record just 9 points.
Saturday’s game served as the Leopard’s annual National Women and Girls in Sports Day, as well as the Play4Kay game, an event dedicated to promoting the battle against cancer.
“This is a good night to show support for people who are fighting and who have fought,” sophomore guard Teresa Kiewiet said. “It’s a really important thing, so I’m glad that we’re able to do this.”
The Raiders (6-4 Patriot League, 16-7 overall) jumped out to an early lead, connecting on three 3-point shots in the first five minutes to start the game on an 11-4 run. The Leopards (2-8 Patriot League, 5-16 overall) quickly worked out of this hole with points from junior guard Kay Donahue, senior guard Abby Antognoli and freshman guard Talia Zurinskas, which leveled the score at 11-11. Colgate would regain a slender advantage as the quarter went on, closing the frame up 16-13.
Kiewiet and Zurinskas would take over the game at the start of the second quarter for the Leopards. The pair combined to score the Maroon and White’s next 15 points and gave the Leopards the lead at 28-27. Zurinskas recorded nine points in the frame en route to a career-high thirteen.
“I was just really trying to be aggressive and get into the paint,” Zurinskas said. “The girls and the team were really opening up the court for me and finding me, so I appreciate that from them.”
Baskets from senior guard Halee Smith and Antognoli would give the Leopards their largest lead of the contest at 33-29, but a late 8-2 surge from the Raiders saw them regain the advantage at the half, leading 37-35.
The second half was a completely different story on both sides of the ball from the Leopards. Offensively, the Leopards shot just 4-21, recording only nine points in the entire half. Colgate’s full-court press rushed the Leopards on offense, forcing them into nine turnovers.
“They definitely challenged us in the first game at their place, so we knew they were going to come out in the third quarter and apply that pressure,” Zurinskas said. “We didn’t handle it the way we should’ve.”
Colgate was also able to dominate the offensive glass, collecting 15 offensive rebounds and scoring 15 second-chance points, compared to just two offensive rebounds for the Leopards.
“We play a lot of zone, so it makes it more challenging to get rebounds,” Kiewiet said. “They crash the glass pretty hard, but we just need to put a body on people and secure the board. It’s really just an effort thing.”
Colgate took advantage of Lafayette’s mishaps in the second half, scoring 38 points to secure a 75-44 blowout of the Leopards. The loss drops the Leopards to 2-8 on the season in the Patriot League, where they currently sit in seventh place, tied with Boston University (2-8 Patriot League, 8-13 overall) and Loyola Maryland (8-13 overall, 2-8 Patriot League), for a home playoff spot.
Despite the loss, Kiewiet says the team remains confident in their ability to secure wins down the stretch.
“I think we have total confidence in ourselves,” Kiewiet said. “We’ve played a lot of close games with a lot of good teams in our league. It’s just a few little things that we need to get done.”
The Leopards will look for a change of form as they travel to Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday to face Navy (7-3 Patriot League, 15-6 overall).
