CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College women's basketball team lost a hard-fought Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference match-up with Nyack College, 74-67 Thursday night in the George R. Newman Center. The loss drops the Cougars to 9-13 overall and 7-5 in conference play, while the Warriors improve to 12-10, 5-8 CACC.

Caldwell led by as many as eight points in the first half before Nyack came back with a 10-0 run that gave the visitors a 30-27 lead with 3:28 on the clock. Four free throws by senior forward Mackenzie Lynch (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic) helped the Cougars tie the game by halftime at 34-34. Jasmine Minter was nearly unstoppable in the first half, leading all players with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Lynch and sophomore guard Kirsty Leedham (Ellesmere Port England/Cheshire Acad.) each scored nine points to pace the Cougars in the half.

The lead changed hands six times over the first five minutes of the second half. A three-pointer and a lay-up by Leedham, pictured, lifted Caldwell to a 50-44 lead with just under 14 minutes to play. The Warriors answered by scoring the next nine points, including four from Kelsey McIntosh, to regain the lead at 53-50 with 11:13 remaining. An 8-3 run by Caldwell, with all eight points coming from the line, swung the score in favor of the hosts, 58-56 with seven minutes left. But again the lead went back and forth five times, until McIntosh hit a three-pointer for a 64-62 Nyack lead with 3:39 on the clock. After the lead grew to 68-64, freshman guard Lynéa Blue (Jersey City, NJ/Marist) nailed a three to make it a one-point game, 68-67 with 1:33 to go. But the Cougars would miss their final five attempts from the field to lose for the fourth time in their last six games.

Caldwell shot just 26.3 percent from the field in the second half compared to 51.9 percent for the Warriors, who earned a split of the season series with the win. Leedham led Caldwell with 25 points, her sixth game over 20 points this season. Lynch tallied 14 points and eight boards before fouling out with 2:51 remaining in the game. Freshman guard Kaitlyn Lambert (Cumberland, RI/Cumberland) added 10 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Abena George (Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial) dished out eight assists in the loss. Minter finished with 32 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Nyack, which also received 17 points from McIntosh.

The Cougars host league-leading Holy Family University on Saturday, Feb. 14, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the Newman Center.