CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College women's basketball team cruised to a 62-42 victory over visiting Philadelphia University in the quarterfinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Saturday night in the George R. Newman Center. The win advances the Cougars (17-10) to Friday's semifinal round against Holy Family University at Caldwell.
The Cougars, seeded second in the North, used stifling defense and three-pointers from seniors Stephanie Cadet (Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial) and Kaitlyn Lambert (Cumberland, RI/Cumberland), and junior Torey Jones (Providence, RI/LaSalle Acad.) to build a 19-6 lead over the first 13 minutes of the game. After the Rams pulled to within eight, two more threes from Jones capped a 9-3 run to close out the half with a 30-16 advantage. Caldwell limited Philadelphia to 24.1 percent shooting from the field, including 1-of-8 from three-point range.
The Rams cut the deficit to 10, 32-22 on six points from Kristen Blye to open the second half. Caldwell's lead was 12 when sophomore forward Jeanette Anderson (Lynn, MA/Lynn English) made three straight baskets to put the Cougars ahead, 46-28 with 10:27 to play. The Rams still struggled to solve the Caldwell defense, never coming closer than 16 points the rest of the way as the Cougars wrapped up the postseason victory.
Caldwell shot 48.4 percent from the floor in the second half compared to just 25.8 percent for Philadelphia, and the hosts dominated the boards, 56-33. Anderson finished with her team-leading 14th double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Lambert had 13 points, seven boards and two blocks. Junior center Gillian Felix (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) grabbed 10 rebounds, and freshman guard Jessica Coscia (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) delivered nine assists. Blye led all players with 24 points to pace the Rams, who were the third seed in the South.
Caldwell is hosting the semifinal and final rounds of the CACC men's and women's basketball tournaments on Mar. 2-3. The Cougars will play the top-seeded team in the South, Holy Family, on Friday, Mar. 2, beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the Newman Center.
CACC Women's Basketball Tournament
Quarterfinals, Saturday, Feb. 25 - at Campus Sites
Game 1: 1S Holy Family 64, 4N Bloomfield 34
Game 2: 2N Caldwell 62, 3S Philadelphia 42
Game 3: 4S USciences 85, 1N Felician 73
Game 4: 3N Dominican 48, 2S Goldey-Beacom 46
Semifinals, Friday, Mar. 2 - at Caldwell
1S Holy Family vs. 2N Caldwell, 5:00 p.m.
4S USciences vs. 3N Dominican, 7:00 p.m.
Finals, Saturday, Mar. 3 - at Caldwell
Semifinal winners, 7:00 p.m.
