CALDWELL, N.J. - Sophomore forward Dana Leary (Bridgewater, NJ/Immaculata), right, scored 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field as the Caldwell College women's basketball team defeated Felician College 76-72 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Saturday afternoon at the George R. Newman Center. With the win, the Cougars improve to 3-4 overall and in the CACC, while Felician drops to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the conference.
The Cougars led for most of the second half and opened up a 21-15 advantage after a three-pointer by junior forward Amy Gaudious (Long Branch, NJ/Long Branch) at the nine-minute mark. Felician answered with 10 straight points, including four from Danielle Norman, to take a 25-21 lead with 5:44 left in the half. But Caldwell finished strong with an 11-3 run over the final 3:28 of the half to take a 37-33 advantage into the locker room. Freshman guard Laura Ciesla (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) started the run with a three-pointer, and freshman forward Janay Prim (Ansonia, CT/Kolbe Cathedral) finished it with four straight points.
Caldwell used tough defense to spark a 16-4 run to open the second half. Seven Felician turnovers and six points from Leary allowed the Cougars to take a 53-37 lead with 11:39 left in the game. Felician cut the lead down to nine, but after a three-pointer by junior guard Shannon Coyle (Matawan, NJ/St. John Vianney), left, the Cougars still led 64-50 with 7:11 to go. The Golden Falcons did not quit, using 10 points from Norman and six from Cherita Gray to spark a 21-9 run that made the score 73-71 with just over a minute to play. On Caldwell's next possession, Leary hit a lay-up with 32 seconds on the clock to keep the Cougars in front to stay.
Caldwell shot a season-high 51.7 percent from the field, including 53.6 percent in the second half, to wrap up its second straight win. The Cougars hadn't shot better than 41.7 percent in a game this season before Saturday's performance. Leary added six assists and two steals to her season-high 18 points. Coyle finished with 16 points and eight assists and Gaudious recorded a team-best six rebounds to go with 14 points. Prim and Ciesla joined Leary and Gaudious as Cougars who reached season-highs in points, scoring 10 and seven points, respectively. Norman tallied 23 points and 13 rebounds and Gray had 19 points to lead Felician.
The Cougars return to the court on Thursday, Dec. 22, when they play host to Southern Connecticut State in a non-conference game. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. in the Newman Center.
