Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
5-10,2-3Patriot
Colgate University
11-5,4-1Patriot
Women's Basketball Hands Colgate First Conference Loss
January 17, 2024 | Women's Basketball
West Point, NY – The Army West Point women's basketball team (5-10, 2-3 PL) handed the Colgate Raiders (11-5, 4-1 PL) their first Patriot League loss Wednesday afternoon in a 52-49 victory. Three different Black Knights scored in double figures. Sophomore Reese Ericson led the way with 13 points and 4 assists. Freshman Fiona Hastick scored 10 points while pulling down five boards and tallying four steals. Junior Trinity Hardy rounded out the double-digit scorers as she posted 11 points and had three steals.
How it Happened
The defense was the biggest key to Army's success as they held Colgate to just seven points in the opening quarter. Fiona Hastick had the first four opening points. Trinity Hardy followed up by scoring some buckets of her own as she led the way through the first ten minutes with seven points and a steal. Hardy shot two for three from the field and shot all of Army's free throws in the first quarter. The Black Knights would take an eight-point lead into the second frame.
The second quarter saw an even match-up with both teams scoring 15 points. Reese Ericson and Lauren Lithgow shone as they led the way in scoring. Ericson had seven second-quarter points as Lithgow went two for two from beyond the arc to add six. As a team, the Black Knights shot 46% from the field and 60% from three through the final ten minutes of the first half. Army would take the same eight-point lead they had after the first quarter into halftime.
Colgate came out in the second half ready to give Army a battle going on a six-point run early to make it a one-possession game. The third quarter is the only one in which the Raiders outscored Army. The Raiders claimed a two-point lead, which the Black Knights quickly responded to and Colgate led for a total of 29 seconds in the third quarter. Freshman Camryn Tade would hit a buzzer-beater heading into the fourth to give Army the two-point lead back as they prepared for the final ten minutes.
The final ten minutes came down to the wire. Army outscored the Raiders 12-11 in the fourth quarter. Coming down to the very last seconds, Army relied on its defense to help come away with the win. Freshman Taylor Wilson got the game's biggest steal in the last six seconds that led to a pair of Kya Smith free throws. The freshman hit both free throws to take a three-point lead to the final buzzer.
Next up for Army Women's Basketball is a big match-up against Navy in Annapolis, MD on Saturday at 11:00 AM.
Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point Women's Basketball, follow the Black Knights on:
Twitter: @ArmyWP_WBB
Instagram: @armywp_wbb, and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.
