BLAUVELT, N.Y. - The Caldwell College women's basketball team dropped a 72-70 decision to Dominican College in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Thursday night at the Hennessy Center. With the defeat, the Cougars fell to 4-8 overall and 3-4 in the conference, while the Chargers improved to 6-6 on the season and 4-3 in the CACC.
The Cougars dominated play in the first half, leading by as many as 17, 35-18 with just under three minutes left in the half. Sophomore guard Jenn Murray (Jackson, NJ/Jackson) shot a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point range en route to 10 first-half points as the Cougars took a 39-24 lead into the break.
In the second half, Caldwell increased its lead to 51-31 with 16:03 left, thanks in part to four points each from sophomore guard Amy Ransom (Chattanooga, TN/Notre Dame), pictured, and freshman guard Corrie McIntyre (Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park Regional). Dominican was able to cut the lead to 10 points after a basket by Jill Younghans made it 57-47 with 9:14 remaining. But Caldwell worked the lead back to 15 points at the 7:54 mark on a three-pointer from freshman guard Melissa Shubiak (Manville, NJ/Immaculata) and two free throws from Ransom. The Chargers then went on a 14-2 run in less than four minutes to get to within 64-61 with 4:10 left. After freshman forward Melissa Freeman (Cresskill, NJ/Cresskill) made 1-of-2 at the line, a three by Dana Rotio and a basket by Ashley Ross gave the Chargers their first lead of the game with 3:14 on the clock. The Cougars briefly retook the lead after a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Shannon Coyle, but Dominican closed out the game with three free throws to clinch the victory.
Ransom finished with a career-high 18 points and had seven rebounds in the loss. Murray added a season-best 12 points and four assists, while Freeman had 11 points. Rotio led all scorers with 19 points.
The Cougars are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 15, when they host Goldey-Beacom College at the Newman Center. The CACC contest is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.
