COLCHESTER, Vt. – Senior forward Emily Caswell (Wakefield, RI/Prout School) scored 29 points, giving her 1,000 points for her career, as the Caldwell University women's basketball team fell in overtime to St. Michael's College, 89-81 Sunday afternoon at the Ross Sports Center. The Cougars are now 3-4 on the season, while the Purple Knights improve to 4-2.

Caldwell needed Caswell's historic performance to stay in the game, as St. Michael's led by 13, 32-19 with 7:26 remaining in the first half. Caswell and the Cougars got back in the game by closing out the half with a 19-8 run that made it a two-point game, 40-38 at the break. Caswell scored 12 of her 17 first-half points in the run.

In the second half, the Purple Knights regained control, increasing their lead back up to as many as 11 points, including a 63-52 edge with 9:16 left to play. A three-pointer from senior guard Jessica Coscia (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) began a 22-10 Caldwell run that put the Cougars on top, 74-73 with 3:23 remaining. Caswell scored nine points during that stretch, with her milestone point coming from the line at the 3:47 mark.

A free throw from Indira Evora and a basket by Kelly Frappier gave the Purple Knights the lead, 76-74 with 2:14 on the clock. With under a minute to play, freshman forward Karlie O'Driscoll (Sharon, MA/Sharon) made a layup off her own miss and was fouled. Her made free throw put the Cougars ahead, 77-76 with 56 seconds left. St. Michael's missed a three-point attempt but regained possession on a turnover, then grabbed an offensive rebound on another miss to stay alive. With seven seconds left, Maddy Bennett was fouled and made her first free throw but missed the second, tying the score at 77-77. Coscia found junior guard Nicole Angelo (Mount Laurel, NJ/Camden Catholic) on the baseline but her shot was just off the mark, sending the game to overtime.

Free throws from O'Driscoll and Angelo off-set a three from Megan Gaudreau and gave Caldwell an 81-80 edge. But back-to-back three-pointers by Makenzie  Burud lifted St. Michael's to an 86-81 lead with 2:08 on the clock. The Cougars went 0-of-5 from the field and committed two turnovers the rest of the way, as the Purple Knights held on for the win.

Caswell ended up with a season-high 29 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. She also grabbed 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double in seven games this year. Caswell is the 16th Cougar to reach the 1,000-point plateau in the program's history. O'Driscoll added 17 points and five rebounds, while Coscia had nine points and three assists. Burud ended up with 30 points and 14 rebounds to lead all players.

The Cougars play Bloomfield College in a rematch of last year's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship game on Wednesday, Dec. 3. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m. in Bloomfield, N.J.