NYACK, N.Y. - Junior guard Phylicia Holmes (Roselle, NJ/Roselle), left, hit a 10-foot jumper with just one second on the clock to give the Caldwell College women's basketball team a 63-61 victory over Nyack College in an important Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Tuesday evening at the Bowman Center. The win raises the Cougars' overall record to 7-8 and evens their conference record at 5-5, while the Warriors fall to 5-7, 3-6 CACC.
With Nyack leading 61-56 with 2:29 remaining, Caldwell began its comeback with a free throw from sophomore forward Mackenzie Lynch (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic) with 2:12 left. Junior guard Dana Leary (Bridgewater, NJ/Immaculata) stole the ball from Christy Porter and assisted on Holmes' jumper that made the score 61-59 Nyack at the 1:44 mark. On the next possession, Lynch grabbed the rebound on a missed Nyack shot, dribbled to the other end and scored to tie the game at 61-61 with 46 seconds left.
The Warriors then turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play, giving Caldwell the ball with 44 seconds on the clock. A turnover by Caldwell supposedly gave Nyack the last chance, but another Warrior turnover put the ball back in the Cougars' hands with just six seconds left. Holmes drove to the basket, then hit a pull-up jumper from 10 feet out as the clock showed just one second. Nyack could not get a shot off before time expired.
The game remained close throughout, with 10 ties and eight lead changes. Caldwell held a 21-18 lead at the half and built a seven-point advantage early in the second half, when a basket by senior guard Shannon Coyle (Matawan, NJ/St. John Vianney) made it 30-23 with 17:25 remaining. But the Warriors battled back, shooting 8-of-13 from three-point range in the second half to erase the deficit and take the lead. Three times Nyack would hit a three-pointer to pull out to a five-point lead in the game's final five minutes, the last one by Porter that made the score 61-56 with 2:29 left. But Nyack would fail to score the rest of the way, as the Cougars forced three turnovers and two missed field goals to fuel the comeback.
Lynch, right, led all scorers with 18 points while grabbing 12 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Coyle recorded 14 points and six assists, Leary finished with 12 points, and Holmes tallied nine points and nine boards in the win. Porter led Nyack with 13 points, while Sarah Sauer had 12 rebounds.
The Cougars return home to play Post University on Thursday, Jan. 18 in another CACC contest. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. at the George R. Newman Center.
