Army Drops Patriot League Opener to Colgate

Saturday, January 2

West Point, N.Y.

3 PM

Army West Point

3-3,0-1Patriot

Colgate

1-0,1-0Patriot

Colgate

Army West Point

Army Drops Patriot League Opener to Colgate

January 02, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army women's basketball fell in its Patriot League opener, 87-76, Saturday afternoon at Christl Arena.

Freshman Lauren Lithgow poured in a season-high 19 points on 5-for-9 shooting and was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc in her first career start. She was 5-for-6 from the line to improve her season total to 24-for-27 (88.9 percent).

Sabria Hunter entered the contest to an eruption of cheers from the Army bench at the 3:32 mark of the first quarter. It represented the Austintown, Ohio, native's first game back since she suffered a season-ending injury following the LIU game on Dec. 4, 2019. Hunter finished the contest with 10 points and five rebounds in just over 13 minutes of play.

Keelah Dixon and Alexa Brodie led the way for the Raiders in the contest. Dixon dropped a career-high 30 points hitting 13 of her 23 field goal attempts, while Brodie, who was 8-for-17 from the floor, added 21.

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

Lithgow's streak of 21 consecutive made free throws came to and end in the third quarter.
Nearly half of her points this season have come from the line, as 24 of her 52 points have been freebies.
Alisa Fallon registered her fifth double-digit scoring effort of the season and the 26th of her career.
The junior guard also dished out six assists, one shy of her career which set nearly a year ago to the day in last year's bout with Colgate up in Hamilton, N.Y., on Jan. 5, 2020.
This was Fallon's fifth career game with five or more assists.
Kaci Helmick recorded her first collegiate basket. The freshman guard finished with eight points in 25 minutes of action.
As a whole, Army's freshman trio of Lithgow, Helmick and Sam McNaughton accounted for 33 points.
Hunter, who was a two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week last season in just eight games played, registered her sixth career double-digit scoring effort.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Raiders held a slim 10-9 lead at the five-minute mark of the first quarter. They then used a 10-0 run to push ahead 20-9 with just under two minutes remaining.
Colgate would go on to hold a 25-13 lead through the first quarter of play, with Dixon accounting for 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting.
Army, which had nine players see action in the first 10 minutes, had five different scorers led by Lithgow's four.
The Black Knights outscored the Raiders 63-62 in the final three quarters. Army, however, was never able to slim Colgate's lead to fewer than seven points.
After being held to just one 3-ball in the first quarter, Army finished the game with 12 – two shy of a program record.
Army cut the Raiders' lead to 59-52 with just over a minute and a half remaining in the third on Lithgow's third trey of the game.
By the early stages of the fourth quarter, Colgate built its lead back up to double-digits, which it would maintain for the remainder of the contest.

FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Dave Magarity
(Ref.: On Hunter returning to the lineup)
"One of the positives for me was getting Sabria Hunter back. In 13 minutes she was terrific. I thought with 10 (points) and five (rebounds). She looked a little shaky at times in terms of just her timing, but she did some things that brought back found memories of last year. I think she's going to continue to get more comfortable."

Sophomore Forward Sabria Hunter
(Ref.: On stepping back out onto the hardwood)
"More than anything I'm really thankful. It has been a really long hard process, but I just couldn't be more thankful for my team. They have supported me through it all. Stepping out there it's so comforting to know that our team has each other's back regardless. Just having that support and playing for each other, you couldn't ask for anything else.

UP NEXT
The two teams will clash again on Sunday, Jan. 3, in Christl Arena. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.