CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College women's basketball team overcame shooting woes in the second half to defeat Mercy College, 80-67 in a non-conference game at the George R. Newman Center Wednesday night. The victory gives the Cougars a 16-9 record on the season, while the Mavericks drop to 6-18.

The game was halted for 20 minutes midway through the first half due to an injury suffered by senior guard Dana Leary (Bridgewater, NJ/Immaculata). Leary, who had scored seven points in the game to give her 997 points for her career, took a charge from Mercy's Christina Baxter and fell hard to the floor. She left the game and did not return.

The Cougars took control of the game early with a 20-4 run that included two three-pointers from senior guard Khaliqa Davis (Newark, NJ/Bloomfield Tech) to take a 25-10 lead at the 13-minute mark. The Caldwell advantage grew to as many as 18 points until a pair of threes from Samantha DeVore helped the Mavericks reduce their deficit to 47-33 at the break. Caldwell shot 52.9 percent from the field in the first half, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.

With the Cougars still holding a 57-43 lead, Mercy mounted a comeback by reeling off a 12-5 run to make the score 62-55 Caldwell halfway through the second half. Free throws by junior forward Janay Perkins (Bronx, NY/Walton) and senior guard Phylicia Holmes (Roselle, NJ/Roselle) and baskets from Holmes and Davis allowed the Cougars to maintain the upper hand, leading 70-57 with 7:21 left. Mercy pulled to within eight, 75-67 with 1:22 on the clock, but it was not enough to prevent Caldwell from winning its second straight game. The Cougars made just 25.0 percent of their field goal attempts in the second half.

Holmes finished with a team-best 15 points to go with nine rebounds and three steals, while junior forward Mackenzie Lynch (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic) had 10 boards and 14 points for her eighth double-double of the season. Davis finished with 12 points and five steals, and Perkins pitched in 10 points and eight rebounds. DeVore led all scorers with 20 points for the Mavericks.

The Cougars return to Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play with a game at Philadelphia University on Saturday, Feb. 23. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.