CALDWELL, N.J.- The Caldwell University women's basketball team lost their first Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game as they came up short to Bloomfield College 57-49. The Cougars fall to 15-4 overall and 10-1 in the CACC, while the Bears improve to 14-6 and 11-1 in conference play.
 
The teams played a close first half as the Cougars pulled ahead early 9-5 midway through the opening quarter. The Bears battled back to even the score at 10 but junior Kristen Drogsler (Middle Village, N.Y.) drained a triple to put Caldwell back in front. Bloomfield rallied late in the quarter to take a 16-15 lead after one quarter of play.
 
The teams traded leads early in the second quarter as Caldwell eventually took a 25-20 lead with 1:54 to play. Bloomfield drained a pair of late three-pointers but the Cougars led 28-26 at halftime. Drogsler finished with 13 points in the opening half to lead Caldwell.
 
Caldwell opened the second half strong as they built their largest lead of the game at 39-32 with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter. Junior Sharell Sanders (Dorchester, Mass.) drained a triple at the 6:32 mark, while Drogsler scored a pair of buckets to help Caldwell take a seven point lead. Bloomfield closed the gap as they scored at the buzzer to trail 43-40 heading into the final quarter.
 
The Bears rallied back in the final quarter as they evened the score at 45 with 7:10 left in the game. Bloomfield took the lead 41 seconds later and held the lead to the final buzzer. The Cougars were held to six points over the final 10 minutes, while the Bears scored 17 points in the fourth quarter.
 
Drogsler led the Cougars with 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Sanders totaled nine points, seven rebounds and five steals. Junior Maura Kelty (Barrington, R.I.) chipped in nine points and five boards, while sophomore Kristen Siscamanis (Winthrop, Mass.) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Cougars host USciences on Saturday, January 28 in a CACC contest at 1 pm.