CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College women's basketball team led for the entire first half, but could not hold on against 14th-ranked Holy Family University in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Saturday evening at the George R. Newman Center. The Cougars, which received 22 points from junior guard Dana Leary (Bridgewater, NJ/Immaculata), lost 76-60 to drop to 9-14 overall and 7-11 in the conference. With the win, the Tigers remain unbeaten in league play at 18-0 while improving to 21-2 on the season.
The Cougars jumped out of the gate on fire, making 9-of-15 from the field and forcing eight Holy Family turnovers to take an 18-4 lead during the first seven minutes of the game. A basket by junior forward Melissa Freeman (Cresskill, NJ/Cresskill) gave Caldwell its biggest lead of the game, 26-11 with just under 10 minutes left in the half. After the teams exchanged baskets, The Tigers closed out the half outscoring the Cougars 19-7 to cut Caldwell's lead to 35-32 at the break. Leary made all seven of her field goal attempts in the first half to help the Cougars shoot 50.0 percent from the floor.
Caldwell held onto its lead early in the second half and took a 41-36 advantage on a lay-up by senior guard Shannon Coyle (Matawan, NJ/St. John Vianney) at the 16:48 mark. But the Tigers scored the next eight points to take its first lead of the game at 44-41 with just under 15 minutes to play. The lead exchanged hands four times until junior guard Khaliqa Davis (Newark, NJ/Bloomfield Tech) tied the game at 50-50 midway through the second half. From that point on it was all Holy Family, as the Tigers scored seven straight points to spark a 22-5 run that made the score 72-55 with 2:12 on the clock. Guard Chrissy Kosiek tallied 10 points in the run that ended the Cougars' hopes for a major upset. Holy Family has now won 44 consecutive regular-season conference games.
Leary hit her first nine shots from the field en route to a 9-of-12 shooting night. Davis finished with 12 points, while junior guard Phylicia Holmes (Roselle, NJ/Roselle) added 10 points, six rebounds and four steals. Coyle also swiped four steals to help Caldwell record 13 steals on the night. Center Megan Bauer tallied 20 points and 11 boards, and Kosiek finished with 17 points to pace the Tigers. Guard Kelly Killion also dished out 10 assists to go with 13 points in the win.
Next up for Caldwell is another home game against conference foe Nyack College on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. in the Newman Center.
