CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College women's basketball team saw its season come to an end with a 61-53 loss to Holy Family University in the semifinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Friday night in the George R. Newman Center. The Cougars wrap up the 2011-12 campaign with a 17-11 record, while the Tigers (23-7) advance to Saturday's championship game against the University of the Sciences.
The loss also marked the final game wearing the Scarlet, White and Gold for seniors Stephanie Cadet (Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial), Willeen Capehart (Providence, RI/LaSalle Acad.) and Kaitlyn Lambert (Cumberland, RI/Cumberland).
Caldwell led for the entire first half, using a 10-0 run midway through the period to build a 24-14 advantage at the 7:20 mark. The lead was 32-21 with 2:16 on the clock when Holy Family scored the final six points of the half to cut the deficit to five, 32-27 at the break. Junior guard Torey Jones (Providence, RI/LaSalle Acad.) scored 12 points in the half, as the Cougars shot 41.4 percent from the field compared to 35.5 percent for the Tigers, and held a 22-16 rebounding edge.
Five points from sophomore forward Jeanette Anderson (Lynn, MA/Lynn English) helped Caldwell take a 37-29 lead three minutes into the second half. But Holy Family, the top seed in the South Division, made its next five shots from the field to spark a game-changing 19-4 run that put the Tigers on top, 48-41 with 10 minutes to play. Erin Mann scored eight points in the key run for Holy Family.
The lead grew to as many as nine before a basket by Anderson and a three from Jones made the score 52-48 Tigers with under three minutes left. But back-to-back baskets by Maggie Serratelli and Ana Cruz put the game out of reach with two minutes remaining. Holy Family shot 51.9 percent from the field in the second half while the Cougars made 36.4 percent after halftime.
Jones finished with a game-high 19 points to go with five rebounds and four assists, while Anderson had 14 points and six boards. Kelly Brady and Mann each had 16 points to lead the Tigers.
In the other semifinal, USciences outlasted Dominican 62-59 to advance to the championship game. On the men's side, Bloomfield beat Philadelphia, 72-63 and Goldey-Beacom edged Dominican in overtime, 72-66. The men's final is at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, with the women's final at 7:00 p.m.
The Cougars, coached by Linda Cimino, will have 12 players from this year's squad back for next season.
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 61, 2N Caldwell 53
4S USciences 62, 3N Dominican 59
Finals, Saturday, Mar. 3 - at Caldwell
1S Holy Family vs. 4S USciences, 7:00 p.m.
CACC Men's Basketball Tournament
Quarterfinals, Saturday, Feb. 25 - at Campus Sites
Game 1: 1S Goldey-Beacom 71, 4N Concordia 67
Game 2: 2N Dominican 79, 3S Chestnut Hill 70
Game 3: 1N Bloomfield 66, 4S Holy Family 64
Game 4: 2S Philadelphia 74, 3N Post 52
Semifinals, Friday, Mar. 2 - at Caldwell
1N Bloomfield 72, 2S Philadelphia 63
1S Goldey-Beacom 72, 2N Dominican 66 (OT)
Finals, Saturday, Mar. 3 - at Caldwell
1N Bloomfield vs. 1S Goldey-Beacom, 4:00 p.m.
