SPARKILL, N.Y.- Caldwell University women's basketball senior Tina Lebron (Manalapan, N.J.) drained five three-pointers and finished with 19 points as the Cougars fell to #25 St. Thomas Aquinas College 81-61 in a non-conference game.
 
The Cougars fall to 0-5 overall, while the Spartans improve to 6-0.
 
Lebron connected on a pair of three-pointers in the opening quarter as Caldwell trailed 13-12 at the midway point. St. Thomas Aquinas answered as they extended their lead to 29-14 early in the second quarter.
 
The Cougars rallied back as sophomore Paula Dits (Alicante, Spain) and freshman Halle Brown (Downingtown, Pa.) each connected on triples in the quarter. Sophomore Tamrin Henderson (Woodbridge, Va.) converted a three-point play at the 3:42 mark to cut the score to 35-29. The Spartans closed the half with a late run to pull ahead 45-32 at the break.
 
Caldwell turned in a strong third quarter as Lebron drained a pair of trifectas, while graduate Alessia Smaldone (Malnate, Italy) connected on a late bucket to help the Cougars trail 56-50 after three quarters.
 
St. Thomas Aquinas pushed their lead to double digits early in the fourth quarter and maintained their lead down the stretch.
 
Lebron shot 5-of-6 from downtown, finishing with 19 points in the game. Henderson totaled 14 points and eight boards, while Smaldone tallied 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
 
The Cougars host Mercy College on Tuesday, November 26 at 5:30 pm.