CALDWELL, N.J. - Six players scored in double figures as the Caldwell College women's basketball team beat Goldey-Beacom College, 108-52 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Saturday afternoon at the George R. Newman Center. The Cougars snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 5-8 overall and 4-4 in the CACC, while the Lightning fell to 4-10 on the season and 3-6 in the conference.
The Cougars never trailed in the game after jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first three minutes. Center Kim Rowley, who scored the Lightning's first 10 points, cut the lead to 14-8 at the 13:33 mark of the first half. But sophomore guard Shannon Coyle (Matawan, NJ/St. John Vianney) ignited a 20-6 Caldwell run with two threes and eight points, giving the Cougars a 34-14 advantage with 9:06 left in the half. Goldey-Beacom was able to reduce the lead to 16 points after a Rowley lay-up made it 38-22 with 3:35 to go. Caldwell then closed out the half with a 14-5 spree that sent the teams into the break with the score 52-27. Coyle poured in 14 points for the Cougars in the half.
The second half was all Caldwell, which shot 65.7 percent from the field in the game's final 20 minutes, and a season-best 58.1 percent for the game. Freshman forwards Melissa Freeman (Cresskill, NJ/Cresskill) and Cecilia Green (Willingboro, NJ/Linden) tallied 11 and 10 points, respectively in the half as the Cougar lead steadily climbed to as many as 58 points.
Besides field goal percentage, the Cougars also set season highs in points (108), assists (34) and steals (17) in the victory. Caldwell was hot from beyond the arc as well, making 9-of-15.
Coyle led the Cougars with a career-high 19 points while hitting 5-of-7 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Jenn Murray (Jackson, NJ/Jackson), pictured, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds while collecting career bests of 14 points and nine assists. Green also reached a career high with 18 points, while sophomore guard Amy Ransom (Chattanooga, TN/Notre Dame) scored 18 points, Freeman finished with 13 points and freshman guard Melissa Shubiak (Manville, NJ/Immaculata) had 12 points. Rowley was 8-of-14 from the field and 11-of-14 from the line en route to a game-high 27 points for the Lightning.
The Cougars' next game is on Tuesday, Jan. 18, when they play at the University of Sciences at 6:00 p.m.