LAKEWOOD, N.J.- The Caldwell University women's basketball team defeated Georgian Court University 56-52 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest.  
 
The Cougars improve to 3-13 overall and 3-4 in the CACC, while the Lions fall to 4-9 and 2-4 in conference play.  
 
The Lions jumped out to a 12-5 lead midway through the opening quarter. Caldwell battled back as sophomore Tamrin Henderson (Woodbridge, Va.) connected on a free throw early in the second quarter to give the Cougars an 18-17 lead.
 
The teams traded points through the quarter but the Cougars scored the final five points to take a halftime lead. Freshman Rebecca Morrison (Ayrshire, Scotland) scored in the paint and added a free throw late in the quarter. Senior Tina Lebron (Manalapan, N.J.) drained three free throws just before halftime to help the Cougars lead 33-28 at the break.
 
The Cougars maintained a five-point lead early in the second half but the Lions scored nine straight points to pull ahead 41-37 midway through the third quarter.
 
Caldwell used a 15-5 run into the fourth quarter to push ahead by six points late in the game. Lebron drained a triple, while graduate Alessia Smaldone (Malnate, Italy) added six points in the run. Sophomore Paula Dits (Alicante, Spain) added four points and capped the run with a bucket at the 4:11 mark to give the Cougars a 52-46 lead.
 
Georgian Court answered with a pair of three-pointers to tie the game at 52 with 2:15 left in the game. Dits scored in the paint to put the Cougars up 54-52 with under a minute to play. The Lions missed a pair of shots in the final seconds, while Lebron drained a pair from the line to seal the win.
 
Smaldone led the way with 15 points, six assists and two steals. Dits added 13 points, eight boards and two steals. Lebron finished with 10 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Morrison totaled nine points and 12 rebounds.
 
The Cougars travel to nationally ranked University of the Sciences for a CACC contest on Wednesday, January 15 at 5:30 pm.