HAMILTON - The Raiders used a 12-point burst and jumped out to a 21-5 lead in that they never relinquished as they improved to 8-3 on the season with a 71-46 win over Pitt-Johnstown at Cotterell Court on Saturday.

COACH ADEDUNTAN'S COMMENTS

"Our mentality is always the same after every game. Our reflection is exactly the same. We are always going to talk about what went well and what didn't go well and areas of improvement. This game is going to be exactly the same. I am proud of Grace [Klag], this is a kid that has battled injuries since high school. She got here and she battled injuries again. She has worked hard to be able to get on the floor. You are seeing what Grace Klag can do because I think she has a lot of talent and she wants it really badly. 

We have a group of players who are committed and bought into what we are trying to do offensively and that is to play selflessly. We want to keep playing for each other. Playing for each other is finding the open players or making a cut to draw defenders. We want to take good shots and be able to recognize what our strengths are and those are the type of shots we want to take."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Sophia Diehl got the Raiders going early with a triple and a back-cut layup putting Colgate up 9-2 just three minutes into the game.
• Pitt-Johnstown responded with a three before the Raiders went on a 12-0 run pushing their advantage to 21-5.
• The Mountain Cats responded with seven points in the final two minutes cutting the deficit to 23-12 after the first frame.
• Diehl started the second quarter just like the first hitting back-to-back 3-pointers as the Raiders went on an 8-0 run.
• Both teams went scoreless on the floor for just under three minutes at the tail end of the first half and Colgate maintained a 39-19 lead.
• The Raiders continued to put pressure on the Mountain Cats scoring six unanswered to start the second half taking a 53-24 lead.
• Pitt-Johnstown continued to battle, netting a triple and a transition layup but the Raiders responded on defense preventing a Mountain Cat point for just under four minutes in the third quarter.
• The Mountain Cats went on an eight point surge and prevented Colgate from scoring in the final 3:49 of the third quarter but the Raiders remained ahead 57-34 heading into the final quarter.
• Madison Schiller snapped over a six minute scoring drought with a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
• Ella Meabon brought a spark off the bench scoring two layups and providing an assist for Grace Klag on a Colgate 6-0 run.
• The Mountain Cats hit a buzzer beating three from half court but the Raiders prevailed 71-46.

GAME NOTES

• Coach Adeduntan earned her 50th win as Colgate head coach making her the third coach in Colgate Women's Basketball history to reach that mark.
• The Raiders finish 6-0 at home in non-conference play. This is the second time in program history Colgate has gone undefeated at home in non-conference play.
• Colgate has won five of its last six games and two straight victories.
• Grace Klag set a new career high in points and field goals, netting 13 points on 6-for-7 from the floor. Klag also equalled her career-high seven boards.
• Colgate's 8-3 start to the season is its best start since 2019.

UP NEXT
Colgate (8-3) hits the road for its final two non-conference games of the season. The Raiders will take on Le Moyne next Saturday with tip set for 12 p.m. Colgate will then travel to Buffalo, N.Y. to match up with Canisius on Sunday, Dec. 29 with tip scheduled for 1 pm.