HAMILTON - The Raiders will tip off their 2024-25 season on Monday, Nov. 4 against UMass Lowell. Colgate heads into the new season after a historic 2023-24 campaign.

The Raiders return three of their five starters which saw them win 20 games for the first time in 20 years. Colgate also returns 12 out of 16 players on the 2024-25 roster.

RETURNING TALENT

Senior Taylor Golembiewski returns for her fourth season as a Raider. The Columbia, Conn. native currently sits 20th in all-time scoring for the Raiders and eclipsed the 1,000 point mark last season. Golembiewski earned Second Team All- Patriot League honors and was selected to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team for the second consecutive year.

Senior Sophia Diehl will serve alongside Golembiewski as the 2024-25 captains. Diehl started every game for the Raiders last season and led the team in rebounds with 220. The Westminster, Md. native shot 45.5% from the field and heads into the new season just 53 rebounds short of the 500 career rebounds mark.

Junior Madison Schiller enters her third season at Colgate already starting 61 out of the 63 games she has appeared in. Schiller led the team in minutes last season averaging 32.8 minutes per game and finished second all-time in 3-point field goal percentage in a season shooting 40.7% in 2023-24. The Wycoff, N.J. native hit 37 triples last year, most by any Raider.

THE NEWCOMERS

Colgate welcomes four new Raiders, including two first years and two transfer players.

Junior Anne Bair played two seasons at Manhattan College appearing in 60 games for the Jaspers. Bair started 26 out of 27 games last season averaging 9.0 ppg, shooting 37% from the field. The Gettysburg, Pa. native will add experience to the Raiders after leading the Jaspers last season with 36.1 minutes per game.

Sophomore Laila Hankerson joins the Raiders after one year at Xavier. With the Musketeers, Hankerson competed on the track and field team, setting the program record in the 60-meter dash. Hankerson graduated from Charlotte Country Day High School where she was a 1,000 point scorer and All-Region player.

First years Ella Mahaffey and Tatiana Matthews will look to make an impact after success at the high school level. Mahaffey amassed 1,212 points at Riverside High School, earning All-State honors as a senior. Matthews was named the 2024 Class 4A Girls Basketball Player of the Year after averaging 30.7 ppg. Matthews also competed in track and field at Dunnellon High School in Florida where she won a state championship in the high jump.

SCHEDULE OUTLOOK

The women's team will play 13 non-league games, including six matchups at Cotterell Court with the Thanksgiving Weekend tournament. The Raiders open up at home against UMass Lowell on Monday, Nov. 4. 

Colgate heads west to California to take on CSU Bakersfield (Nov. 8) and UCLA (Nov. 10), before returning back to Hamilton to take on Central Connecticut (Nov. 15). The Raiders will then take a trip to Delaware to face off against the Blue Hens (Nov. 19) before hosting St. Bonaventure (Nov. 23) at Cotterell Court. November is capped off as the Raiders host a Thanksgiving Weekend Tournament on Nov. 29 and 30.

The Raiders begin their 2024-25 Patriot League campaign on the road against Army on Jan. 2. Colgate will host Bucknell in its Patriot League home opener on Jan. 5, before a Patriot League semi final rematch against Boston University on Jan. 11.

Coach Adeduntan added, "I'm really looking forward to the start of our season. We have a group that has worked extremely hard since our season ended last March. I'm looking forward to seeing our player's commitment to development start to show once games begin. We've been really focused on the type of environment that we want to not just create, but be a part of every single day. We like to say in our program that 'the work is fun'. I feel as though we've been having a lot of fun this offseason. I'm looking forward to seeing how that carries into the 2024-25 season and how hard we play for each other. Our focus and goal remain the same: we want to feel great about how we show up every time to play; and our goal will always be to play Colgate basketball on both ends of the floor."