CALDWELL, N.J. - Senior guard Dana Leary (Bridgewater, NJ/Immaculata) scored her 1,000th career point with 8:29 to play in the first half as the Caldwell College women's basketball team outlasted Nyack College, 83-74 in overtime in the regular-season finale Wednesday night in the George R. Newman Center. The victory gives the Cougars a 17-10 overall record and a 10-7 mark in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, while the Warriors fall to 10-16, 7-10 CACC.
Leary becomes the first Caldwell women's basketball player since 2003 and the 10th since 1987 to reach the 1,000-point milestone. She has played in 104 games for the Cougars. The win also marked the final home game for seniors Leary, Khaliqa Davis (Newark, NJ/Bloomfield Tech), Melissa Freeman (Englewood, NJ/Cresskill) and Phylicia Holmes (Roselle, NJ/Roselle).
After Davis made 1-of-2 from the line for a 68-66 lead with nine seconds left in regulation, Nyack's Shelly Yount took an inbounds pass with two seconds left and hit a lay-up at the buzzer to tie the game at 68-68 and force overtime. The game was still tied at 72-72 with 2:11 remaining in the overtime period when the Cougars hit 9-of-10 from the free throw line while recording four consecutive stops on the defensive end to wrap up the win.
Nyack opened the game with an 11-4 run, but the Cougars battled back to take the lead with eight straight points. Leary's milestone basket came on a jumper from the free throw line that put Caldwell ahead 14-13. The first half remained close, with the Warriors finishing the period with a 10-6 run to take a 30-27 halftime lead. The lead changed hands six times until a basket by junior Janay Perkins (Bronx, NY/Walton) put Caldwell on top, 40-39 with 14:39 to play.
The lead grew to as many as eight points after back-to-back lay-ups by Davis off of steals made the score 57-49 with 7:10 on the clock. Caldwell still led 65-59 with just under two minutes left when Nyack made its move. A conventional three-point play by Tamyra Lathon, followed by two more Lathon free throws pulled the Warriors to within one, 65-64 with 29 seconds remaining. Free throws by junior forward Mackenzie Lynch (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic) made the score 67-64. After a missed jumper by Nyack, Caldwell missed on its next two trips to the line, opening the door for the Warriors. Lathon was fouled and hit two more free throws with 10 seconds to play to cut the lead to 67-66. Davis was fouled and made just 1-of-2 from the line, setting up Yount's game-tying basket at the buzzer.
Lynch and Davis each tallied a game-high 21 points to lead Caldwell. Davis added six assists and five steals, while Lynch grabbed 14 boards and four steals for her ninth double-double of the season. Leary finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three steals, while Holmes totaled nine points, 10 boards and four steals. The Cougar defense hounded the Warriors all game, resulting in 18 steals and 24 Nyack turnovers. Kelsy Mcintosh paced the Warriors with 18 points, while Lathon finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds in the loss. Yount also pitched in 12 points, 13 caroms and five assists.
The Cougars finished in third place in the CACC North Division and will play at Bloomfield College on Saturday, Mar. 1 in the quarterfinals of the CACC Tournament. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. in the Bloomfield Gymnasium.
