NYACK, N.Y. - The Caldwell College women's basketball team fell to Nyack College, 81-71 in the quarterfinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Tuesday night at Nyack's Bowman Gymnasium. The loss ends the Cougars' season at 15-12, while the Warriors (19-11) advance to Friday's semifinals, which will be held at Caldwell College.

The Cougars took control of a close game midway through the first half, turning a one-point game into a 28-20 advantage on the strength of four points from junior guard Abena George (Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial) and a three from junior guard Kirsty Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Acad.). With Caldwell still on top by eight with five minutes left in the half, the Warriors used three-pointers by Victoria Sweet and Shelly Yount to post a 12-5 run and cut the Cougars' lead to one, 38-37 with a minute remaining. Sophomore guard Stephanie Cadet (Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial) buried a three near the end of the half to give Caldwell a 41-37 lead at the break. Both teams hit six three-pointers in the half, including three by Leedham.

Another three from Leedham helped the Cougars build their lead to 46-40 early in the second half. Nyack answered with an 8-2 run to tie the game at 48-48 with just under 15 minutes to play. After back-to-back jumpers by freshman guard Torey Jones (Providence, RI/LaSalle Acad.) put Caldwell on top 52-48, Nyack reeled off a game-changing 14-3 spree that gave the Warriors their biggest lead of the game to that point, 62-55 with 10:27 left. Nyack made six shots in a row during the run, with Sweet and Lekesha Harris hitting threes. Caldwell never came closer than four points the rest of the night, as the Warriors closed out the win making 12-of-17 from the free throw line in the game's final four minutes.

Caldwell shot just 31.4 percent in the second half compared to 44.4 percent for Nyack, which also out-rebounded the Cougars 30-15 after halftime.

Jones scored 17 of her game-high 28 points in the second half, shooting 10-of-21 from the field with four rebounds and three steals for the game. The 28-point performance ties a career high for Jones, who was named the CACC Rookie of the Year earlier in the day. Leedham finished with 16 points, including four three-pointers, and four assists, while freshman center Gillian Felix (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. Sweet made 4-of-5 from three-point range and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe en route to 25 points and 10 rebounds for Nyack. Yount added 21 points and 13 boards in the win.

The loss marked the final game for seniors Danielle Hubbard (East Orange, NJ/Bloomfield Tech) and Kate Shutz (Edison, NJ/Edison).

CACC Women's Basketball Tournament
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, Mar. 2
N1 Nyack 81, N4 Caldwell 71
N2 Dominican 81, N3 Bloomfield 68
S1 Holy Family 73, S4 Wilmington 47
S3 Goldey-Beacom 72, S2 Philadelphia 64

Semifinals - Friday, Mar. 5 (hosted by Caldwell College)
S1 Holy Family (27-1) vs. N2 Dominican (15-13), 5:00 p.m.
N1 Nyack (19-11) vs. S3 Goldey-Beacom (17-11), 7:00 p.m.

Finals - Saturday, Mar. 6 (hosted by Caldwell College)
Semifinal winners, 7:00 p.m.