GARDEN CITY, N.Y.- The Caldwell University women's basketball team's season came to a close on Friday night as the Cougars fell to Molloy College 70-62 in the NCAA Division II Championship East Region Quarterfinals. The Lions advance to Saturday's East Region Semifinals against host Adelphi University.
 
The Cougars, playing in their first-ever NCAA Division II Championship contest, earned the East Region #4 seed in the tournament after a record-setting season. The Cougars season ends at 25-6 as they conclude their season with program record 25 wins this year. Five of the Cougars losses this season were to teams that were selected to the NCAA Division II Championship and the other loss was to a team that was regionally ranked in the final weekly poll (Bloomfield College).
 
The teams traded leads throughout the opening half as they combined for 36 points over the first two quarters. Molloy held a 12-9 lead after the opening quarter but Caldwell rallied early in the second quarter.
 
The Cougars evened the score at 12 early in the second quarter but the Lions pushed ahead 22-14 at halftime. Molloy shot 9-for-35 (25.7%) from the field in the opening half, while the Cougars shot 5-for-30 (16.7%) from the field.
 
Caldwell rallied to open the second half as they took a one-point lead at 26-25 with 5:27 left in the quarter following a jumper by junior Kristen Drogsler (Middle Village, N.Y.). Molloy answered to go back ahead 29-26 but Caldwell rallied back.
 
The Cougars pulled even following a pair of Drogsler free throws at the 3:12 mark to tie the score at 29. Molloy went back in front 36-31 but senior Antoinette Pilla (Scarsdale, N.Y.) drained a pair at the free throw line to cut the score to three points.
 
Molloy answered as they extended their lead to nine points at 46-37 early in the fourth quarter. Caldwell rallied with a 6-0 run as sophomore Kristen Siscamanis (Winthrop, Mass.) connected on two free throws and added a jumper. Drogsler added a jumper as the Cougars closed the gap to 46-43 with 4:59 left in the game. Molloy responded with a lay-up and a triple to push their lead to eight points. The Lions maintained their lead the rest of the way.
 
Drogsler netted 21 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds. Siscamanis totaled 12 points and six boards. Sophomore Caroline Dunn (Denville, N.J.) posted four points, six boards and two steals. Pilla chipped in four points and four assists.
 
The loss marks the final game in a Cougar uniform for Pilla. She ends her Caldwell career as one of the most prolific three-pointers shooters in the program's history. Pilla finished her career with 1,308 points and is second all-time in three-pointers with 218.