BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - A 15-foot jumper by senior guard Phylicia Holmes (Roselle, NJ/Roselle) with three seconds left gave the Caldwell College women's basketball team a come-from-behind 78-76 victory over East Stroudsburg University Saturday afternoon at the Patriot Inn-Huskies Tip-Off Classic held at Bloomsburg University. The Cougars, who trailed by 16 points with 12 minutes left in the game, improve to 2-0 on the season, while the Warriors fall to 0-2. Caldwell is the only team at the Tip-Off Classic to win both of its games.
After a three-pointer by freshman guard Stephanie Cadet (Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial) put the Cougars ahead 76-74 with 57 seconds to play, Monika Fogelsanger tied the game with 46 seconds left. On the next possession, junior forward Mackenzie Lynch (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic) missed a lay-up attempt, but the ball went out of bounds off an East Stroudsburg player. Holmes took advantage of the second chance, driving towards the lane and pulling up from 15 feet to nail a jumper with three seconds on the clock. An aggressive defensive play by freshman guard Kirsty Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Acad.) forced a turnover on the Warriors' final chance, clinching victory for Caldwell.
East Stroudsburg led by as many as nine points in the first half before the Cougars were able to reduce the deficit to 39-35 at the half. The Warriors opened the second half with a 20-8 run that included nine points by Fogelsanger and six points from Jackie Yandrisevits to lead 59-43 with 11:52 remaining. Over the next seven minutes, the Cougars made 9-of-12 from the field and forced five Warrior turnovers to surge back into the game with a 22-9 run of their own that made the score 68-65 with 4:13 left.
After two free throws from Fogelsanger, the Cougars pulled to within 70-69 on free throws from Lynch and Leedham and a basket by senior forward Melissa Freeman (Englewood, NJ/Cresskill). Freeman answered two more Fogelsanger free throws with a jumper, then Lynch gave Caldwell its first lead since midway through the first half with a basket with 1:42 left for a 73-72 advantage. Kristen Murray's basket briefly regained the lead for ESU before Cadet buried her third three of the game, setting up Holmes' heroics.
Leedham led the Cougars in scoring for the second straight game with 19 points while making 4-of-9 from three-point range. Lynch totaled 15 points, all in the second half, and 10 rebounds for her 12th double-double in 23 career games at Caldwell. Cadet finished with 11 points and three assists, while Holmes, whose game-winner marked her only points of the second half, ended up with nine points and five boards. The Cougars forced 24 ESU turnovers while recording just 15 miscues of their own. Fogelsanger scored a game-high 22 points, while Yandrisevits had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who were 25-4 a year ago.
The Cougars will host Stonehill College in the home opener on Saturday, Nov. 24 as part of a doubleheader with the men's team, which plays Belmont Abbey College at 2:00 p.m. The women's game follows at 4:00 p.m. in the George R. Newman Center.
