Contact: Christina Cracolici

Phone: (315) 228-6761

December 15, 2001

Albany, N.Y. - Freshmen Milaina Lagzdins (Oakville, Ontario, Canada/Nelson) exploded for 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals, all season-highs, while fellow first-year Allison Lipinski (Garfield Heights, Ohio/Garfield Heights) netted a season-high 23 points, including five three-pointers on 5-for-10 shooting from three-point range and a third freshmen Emily Braseth (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) chipped in with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals to propel Colgate past Albany 77-66 in a non-conference women’s basketball game, Saturday.   Colgate improves to 3-5 on the season, while Albany falls to 2-6.

            Lipinski, who also had a season-high four rebounds and two steals, is shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc this season connecting on 27-of-54 attempts.  She currently holds the number seven spot for three-point field goals in a season with 27.

            Albany had three players in double-figures and were led by Danielle Hutcheson’s 20 points and seven rebounds. Kathryn Hemlock netted 11 points and dished of six assists and Jess McGinlay added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. 

            With the game up for grabs with the score at 23-22 in favor of Colgate with 8:02 remaining in the first half, Lagzdins took control of the paint and scored the Raiders’ next 10 points to push the lead to 33-22 with four minutes remaining in the half.  Colgate took a 39-31 advantage into the half. 

            In the opening play of the second half, Albany cut the lead to five at 39-34 on a three pointer from Hemlock, but the Raiders’ responded outscoring the Great Danes 21-6 over the next ten minutes to take a commanding 24 point lead at 61-37.  Braseth scored seven of her ten points in the decisive run for Colgate.

            Albany cut the lead to 11 with 2:49 remaining in the game on two Hutcheson free throws to cap a 22-10 run, but Colgate halted any thoughts of an Albany come-back bid shooting 18-for-21 from the free throw line, including 4-for-4 shooting in the final seconds of the game on two free throws a piece from Lipinski and Alison Hanson.

Colgate shot 77.4 percent from the free-throw line for the game on 24-for-31 shooting and 41.8 percent from the floor, including a 7-for-14 mark from three-point range.  Albany connected on 23-of-59 attempts from the field for a 39 percent mark.

Colgate will host Wagner, Monday December 17 at 7 p.m. before heading out on the road for the final two games before the Christmas break against Quinnipiac and Binghamton.