CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College women's basketball team lost a close Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game to visiting Philadelphia University, 83-80 Saturday afternoon in the George R. Newman Center. With the loss, the Cougars drop to 12-8 overall and 9-4 in the conference, while the Rams improve to 15-5, 10-2 CACC.

The first half remained tight, with neither team leading by more than six points. Caldwell closed out the half strong, out-scoring the Rams 18-11 over the final six minutes. Junior center Gillian Felix (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) scored seven points in the run that sent the Cougars into the halftime break with a 49-44 lead. Both teams shot the ball well in the first half, with Caldwell hitting 59.5 percent of its attempts compared to 51.7 percent for Philadelphia.

Momentum stayed with the Cougars early in the second half, as four points from sophomore forward Jeanette Anderson (Lynn, MA/Lynn English) and a basket by senior forward Kaitlyn Lambert (Cumberland, RI/Cumberland) gave Caldwell its largest lead of the game, 55-44. The lead was nine points at the seven-minute mark when the Rams used a 10-2 run to pull within one, 76-75 with 3:46 to play. Following another basket by Anderson, layups from Kristen Blye and Christine Wooding gave Philadelphia its first lead of the second half, 79-78 with 2:17 on the clock.

After a Caldwell turnover and a basket by Najah Jacobs, Anderson hit two free throws with under a minute remaining to make it a one-point game, 81-80. Both teams committed turnovers on their next possession, and Stephanie Agger made a layup to make the score 83-80 Rams with 18 seconds left. With time running down, a three-point attempt by Caldwell was blocked, giving Philadelphia the narrow victory.

Anderson registered her 11th double-double of the season with 31 points and 13 rebounds while making 14-of-22 from the floor. Lambert finished with 16 points and six boards, while junior guard Torey Jones (Providence, RI/LaSalle Acad.) had 12 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Freshman guard Jessica Coscia (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) contributed 10 assists. Wooding finished with 27 points and eight rebounds for Philadelphia, while Jacobs added 20 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field and 8-of-8 from the line. The Rams went to the charity stripe 21 times compared to six times for Caldwell.

Next up for the Cougars is a CACC contest at Holy Family University on Saturday, Feb. 4. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. in Philadelphia, Pa.