CALDWELL, N.J. - Senior forward Janay Perkins (Bronx, NY/Walton) tallied career highs of 23 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks to lead the Caldwell College women's basketball team to an 83-67 victory over Mercy College in the ECAC Holiday Classic, played at Caldwell's George R. Newman Center Saturday evening. The win is the Cougars' fourth in a row and evens their record at 4-4 on the season, while the Mavericks drop to 1-8.
Caldwell broke open a close game with a 9-1 run capped by a three-pointer by sophomore guard Kirsty Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Acad.) that gave Caldwell a 31-21 lead with 5:48 remaining in the first half. The Cougars maintained the 10-point advantage for the remainder of the period and took a 43-33 lead into the break. Perkins had 13 points and seven boards in the half for Caldwell.
Leedham helped the Cougars extend the lead to 19 points in the second half, scoring seven points in a 9-0 spree that put Caldwell on top 56-37 with just over 15 minutes remaining. The Mavericks came as close as 11 points the rest of the way, but would get no closer as the Cougars cruised to their fourth straight victory. Caldwell held a big advantage at the free throw line, hitting 25-of-36 (69.4 percent) compared to 13-of-23 (56.5 percent) for Mercy.
Perkins made 11-of-15 from the field for the game and had five of her seven blocks in the second half to earn Player of the Game honors. Leedham finished with 19 points, seven boards and three steals, freshman guard Kaitlyn Lambert (Cumberland, RI/Cumberland) registered 18 points and nine rebounds, and senior forward Mackenzie Lynch (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic) had 12 points and three steals. Mercy was led by Christina Baxter, who scored a game-high 25 points and dished out five assists.
Queens College won the other women's game, 65-58 over Felician College. Kara Otterbine had 15 points, 12 boards and four blocks to earn Player of the Game accolades.
The Cougars wrap up the ECAC Holiday Classic with a game against Queens College on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 12:00 p.m.
