CALDWELL, N.J. - A driving lay-up by Stephanie Agger with 2.4 seconds to play allowed Philadelphia University to defeat the Caldwell College women's basketball team, 80-78 in the final regular-season game for both teams Friday night in the George R. Newman Center. The loss drops the Cougars to 10-17 overall and 8-9 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, while the Rams improve to 18-9, 13-5 CACC and clinch the second seed in the South Division.
A basket by sophomore guard Kirsty Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Acad.) tied the game at 76-76 with 39 seconds remaining. Agger received the ball on the right side and drove to the hoop to put Philadelphia back on top, 78-76 with 25 seconds left. Senior forward Janay Perkins (Bronx, NY/Walton) tied the game again with two free throws, leaving 17 seconds on the clock. In a carbon copy of her previous basket, Agger drove from the right and converted a lay-up with her left hand with just 2.4 seconds left. A long desperation shot at the buzzer missed the mark, giving the Rams the victory. The two baskets were Agger's only field goals of the night.
The game remained close throughout, with nine lead changes in the first half before Philadelphia took a slim 43-42 lead at halftime. Caldwell regained the upper hand early in the second half and built a 53-48 advantage with 16:39 on the clock. The Rams eventually overtook the Cougars with a 14-4 run, capped by a three-pointer from Nina Brascetta, for a 68-63 lead with just under eight minutes to play. Caldwell came within one point after a lay-up by senior forward Mackenzie Lynch (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic) made the score 73-72 with 1:53 left. Again another three-pointer, this time by Amanda Brennan, pushed the lead back to four, 76-72. Leedham hit back-to-back jumpers to tie the game at 76-76, setting up Agger's dramatic finish.
Caldwell forced 22 Philadelphia turnovers and had 12 steals, but the Rams countered by making 53.3 percent from the field. Leedham led all scorers with 29 points, while Lynch finished with a double-double, registering 16 points and 10 rebounds for Caldwell. Freshman forward Kaitlyn Lambert (Cumberland, RI/Cumberland) had 14 points, while Perkins finished with 12 points, eight boards and three blocks. Jessica Romano led the Rams with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Brennan tallied 15 points.
The game also marked the final home game for Caldwell seniors Lynch, Perkins and forward Janay Prim (Ansonia, CT/Kolbe Cathedral), who is out for the season with an injury. The Cougars will face Bloomfield College in the first round of the CACC Tournament on Monday, Mar. 2 in Bloomfield, N.J. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
