WATERBURY, Conn. - Sophomore guard Kirsty Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Acad.) struck for 43 points as the Caldwell College women's basketball team beat Post University, 88-66 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game Tuesday night at the Drubner Center. Leedham's outburst marks the highest single-game scoring total in the conference this season and helps the Cougars win their third straight game to improve to 7-9 overall and 5-1 in league play. The Eagles (3-14) remain winless in the CACC at 0-7.

Leedham scored eight of the game's first 10 points as the Cougars opened with a 10-0 run and never looked back. Post was able to cut the Cougars' lead to eight with eight minutes to play in the first half. But Caldwell maintained the upper hand, and another Leedham basket with 20 seconds left made the halftime score 47-32 in favor of the visiting Cougars. Leedham was 10-of-15 from the floor in the first half, including 2-of-2 from three-point range, to help Caldwell shoot 53.1 percent from the field. She finished with 29 first-half points.

Eight straight points by Post, capped by a three from Elizabeth Johnson, allowed the Eagles to cut the Cougars' lead to 11, 51-40 with 17:49 to play. A pair of three-pointers by freshman guard Lynéa Blue (Jersey City, NJ/Marist) and seven more points from Leedham pushed Caldwell's lead to 73-46 with 7:29 remaining. Post never got closer than 22 points the rest of the way, as the Cougars won their third CACC contest in a row.

For the game, Leedham went 13-of-24 from the field, 3-of-6 from three-point range and 14-of-19 from the free throw line. She also had five steals, including four in the second half, three rebounds and two assists. Her 43-point performance falls one point shy of the school record, shared by teammate Mackenzie Lynch (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic) and former Caldwell standout Danielle Ciresi. Lynch notched her 11th double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 boards, while Blue finished with 12 points. Stephanie Goss led the Eagles with 22 points and eight rebounds.

The Cougars continue CACC play with a game at Dominican College on Thursday, Jan. 29. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m. in Orangeburg, N.Y.