CALDWELL, N.J.- Senior
Antoinette Pilla (Scarsdale, N.Y.) tallied a career-high 32 points as the Caldwell University women's basketball team overcame an early deficit to defeat Georgian Court University 91-73 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action.
The Cougars improve to 18-4 overall and 13-1 in the CACC, while the Lions drop to 3-19 and 1-14 in conference play.
Georgian Court opened the game with strong shooting as they jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the first four minutes. Caldwell trimmed their deficit to five points at 17-12 but the Lions pushed their lead back to eight points late in the opening quarter. Junior
Kristen Drogsler (Middle Village, N.Y.) hit a pair of free throws with nine seconds left to cut the score to 24-18 after one quarter.
Pilla connected on a triple early in the second quarter but the Lions answered to push their lead to seven points at 30-23. Caldwell finished the first half strong as they closed the second quarter with a 21-8 run. Pilla got the Cougars rally started with two trifectas midway through the quarter. Sophomore
Rachel Simon (Wallkill, N.Y.) drained a triple as she totaled nine points in the rally. Simon capped the run with a jumper with under a minute to play to give Caldwell a 44-37 lead. Georgian Court hit a free throw in the final seconds but the Cougars lead 44-38 at halftime.
The Lions closed to within five points early in the second half at 46-41 but Caldwell answered with a game-deciding 26-5 run to stretch their lead into double digits. Pilla tallied 12 points in the rally as she connected on a pair from downtown. Junior
Sharell Sanders (Dorchester, Mass.) also added a triple, while Drogsler totaled six points in the run.
Pilla capped the run with a fast-break bucket with 1:27 left in the third quarter to push the Caldwell lead to 72-46. The Cougars maintained a double-digit lead through the fourth quarter to secure their 18th victory of the season.
Pilla shot 12-for-14 from the field and 6-for-7 from downtown to set a new career-high with 32 points. Drogsler chipped in 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Sanders posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards, while adding five rebounds and four steals. Simon shot 8-for-10 from the field and 2-for-4 from behind the arc to finish with 18 points.
The Cougars return to the court on Tuesday, February 7 as they travel to Nyack College for a CACC clash at 5:30 pm.
