CALDWELL, N.J. - Freshman guard Kirsty Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Acad.) scored a career-high 23 points off the bench to lead the Caldwell College women's basketball team to a 76-57 triumph over Bloomfield College in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Wednesday evening in the George R. Newman Center. The win snaps the Cougars' four-game losing streak and gives them an overall record of 9-5, including a 3-3 mark in the conference. Bloomfield falls to 7-7, 4-2 CACC.
A pair of threes from Leedham sparked a 16-6 Caldwell run that broke open a close game and gave the Cougars a 37-23 lead with 2:37 left in the first half. Leedham was 4-of-5 from three-point range in the first half to help the Cougars take a 42-30 advantage at the break. Conventional three-point plays from senior guards Dana Leary (Bridgewater, NJ/Immaculata) and Khaliqa Davis (Newark, NJ/Bloomfield Tech) sparked an 8-3 run to open the second half. Caldwell's lead would grow to as many as 27 points as Bloomfield never came closer than 17 points in the game's final 10 minutes. The Cougars shot 46.7 percent from the floor while dishing out 21 assists in the game.
The victory also ended an eight-game losing streak to Bloomfield that stretched back to the 2003-04 season. Caldwell's last victory over the Lady Deacons came on Feb. 21, 2004.
Leedham connected on 8-of-12 from the field, including 6-of-8 from three-point range to eclipse her previous career high of 21 set in a win at Bloomsburg University in her first collegiate game. Leary finished with 13 points and a team-best seven rebounds, while Davis and junior forward Janay Perkins (Bronx, NY/Walton) had 12 points apiece. Freshmen Stephanie Cadet (Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial) and Abena George (Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial) each recorded six assists, with George swiping three steals. Ashley Crenshaw led Bloomfield with 18 points.
The Cougars continue conference play with a game at undefeated and 11th-ranked Holy Family University on Saturday, Jan. 19. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Philadelphia, Pa.
