CALDWELL, N.J. - In a battle between the top two teams in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference North Division, the Caldwell College women's basketball team outlasted Bloomfield College in overtime, 80-70 Thursday night in the George R. Newman Center. With the win, the Cougars improve to 17-5 overall and 13-3 in conference play, a game and a half behind first-place Bloomfield (17-7, 15-2 CACC). Sophomore guard Torey Jones (Providence, RI/LaSalle Acad.) recorded her third straight game of 30 or more points, scoring a career-high 33 points in the victory.
A pair of free throws by Jones with 1:36 remaining in regulation gave Caldwell a 63-62 lead. The Lady Deacons answered with a basket by Nichole Hawkins, who also added a free throw with less than a minute to play for a 65-63 Bloomfield lead. After Jones and the Lady Deacons' Vanessa Lamison each went 1-of-2 from the line, senior guard Kirsty Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Acad.) was fouled and hit both free throws to tie the game at 66-66 with 26 seconds remaining. Neither team converted on their final possessions, sending the game to overtime.
Caldwell wasted little time in the extra session, scoring the first 10 points, including four from junior forward Kaitlyn Lambert (Cumberland, RI/Cumberland) and a three by Leedham, to run away from Bloomfield. The Lady Deacons missed their first seven field goal attempts and all four free throws in overtime, while the Cougars made 3-of-4 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line. The win earns Caldwell a split of the season series with Bloomfield, which defeated the Cougars 81-73 on Dec. 9 in Bloomfield.
The Cougars jumped out to a 23-10 lead midway through the first half and still led by nine, 31-22 with four minutes left in the half. But Bloomfield outscored Caldwell 14-3 to close out the half with a 36-34 lead at the break. The Cougars regained the upper hand in the second half and led by as many as seven points, including 59-52 with 6:45 on the clock. The Lady Deacons responded by scoring the next eight points to lead 60-59 with 2:20 left. The lead changed hands four times before the score was tied 66-66 at the end of regulation.
Caldwell made a season-high 11 three-pointers on 25 attempts (44.0 percent) and held a 54-43 rebounding edge. For the second consecutive game, Jones hit six threes and also recorded seven rebounds, five assists and one steal in 43 minutes. The reigning CACC Player of the Week, Jones scored 31 points against USP on Saturday and 30 points against Concordia College on Tuesday. Sophomore center Gillian Felix (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac), pictured, had a strong performance with 11 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Leedham finished with 18 points. For Bloomfield, Lamison and Tiffany McDaniel each scored 15 points, and Hawkins had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Next up for Caldwell is another CACC contest at Wilmington University on Saturday, Feb. 19. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. in New Castle, Del.
