CALDWELL, N.J. - Sophomore guard Shannon Coyle (Matawan, NJ/St. John Vianney), pictured, reached career highs with 17 points and six assists to help the Caldwell College women's basketball team defeat Georgian Court, 75-66 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Thursday night at the George R. Newman Center. With the win, the Cougars improved to 4-6 overall and 3-2 in the CACC, while the Lions fell to 2-8 on the season and 1-5 in conference play.
The first half remained close, with the Cougars taking their largest lead of the half after freshman guard Corrie McIntyre (Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park) made a lay-up to put Caldwell up 28-23 with 2:34 on the clock. But a 9-4 Lion run to close out the half, capped by a lay-up by Stephanie Longo at the buzzer, tied the game at 32-32 heading into halftime.
The lead changed hands four times in the first five minutes of the second half. Then with the score tied at 40-40, four straight baskets from four different Cougars gave Caldwell the lead for good with 12:39 remaining. Georgian Court was able to get to within one point after a three-pointer by Lauren Meyer made it 53-52 with 7:03 left. But a three by McIntyre at the 3:27 mark completed a 13-5 run by the Cougars to put the game away.
Caldwell shot a season-high 41.2 percent from the field and held a 50-35 advantage on the boards, including 20 rebounds on the offensive glass.
Coyle notched 10 of her 17 points in the first half. Freshman forward Melissa Freeman (Cresskill, NJ/Cresskill) also set a career best with 16 points and added nine rebounds and three blocks. McIntyre finished with 13 points, while sophomore guard Jenn Murray (Jackson, NJ/Jackson) had a career-high 10 rebounds to go with nine points. Meyer, who entered the game leading the CACC in scoring with 24.3 points per game, had 28 points and nine rebounds, and Longdo finished with 17 points.
The Cougars return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 11, when they host CACC foe N.J.I.T. at 6:00 p.m. at the Newman Center.