CALDWELL, N.J.- Caldwell University women's basketball senior
Paula Dits (Alicante, Spain) scored a game-high 16 points as the Cougars pulled away from St. Thomas Aquinas College 63-42 in a non-conference game.
The Cougars improve to 2-1 overall, while the Spartans fall to 0-3.
St. Thomas Aquinas took an early 6-2 lead but the Cougars rallied back with six straight points. Dits scored four points to put the Cougars ahead 8-6 midway through the opening quarter. Caldwell led by as much as four points at 16-12 late in the second quarter.
The Spartans took a three-point lead as they scored seven unanswered points to pull ahead 19-16 with 2:34 left in the half. Juniors
Halle Brown (Downingtown, Pa.) and
Rebecca Morrison (Ayrshire, Scotland) each connected on three-pointers down the stretch, while graduate
Shanice Graves (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored in the final minute to give the Cougars a 24-22 lead at halftime.
The teams traded leads to start the second half but Caldwell pulled away with a 9-0 run to close out the third quarter. Junior
Jessica Wagoner (Clifton Park, N.Y.) scored four points in the run, while Brown drained a trifecta in the waning second of the quarter to put the Cougars ahead 40-31.
The Spartans closed the gap to five points at 40-35 early in the fourth quarter but Caldwell pulled away with an 11-4 run. Wagoner score four points, while Morrison added five points, capping the run with as three-pointer at the 3:17 mark for a 51-39 Caldwell lead. The Cougars maintained their double-digit lead down the stretch.
Dits led the way with 16 points and eight rebounds, while graduate
Saundra Cleckley (Far Rockaway, N.Y.) added 12 points, five boards and three steals. Morrison tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Wagoner finished with nine points and six boards, while junior
Casey O'Shaughnessy (Brooklyn, N.Y.) totaled six points and four steals.
The Cougars take on Franklin Piece University on Friday, November 19 at 6 pm at the Regina Rivera Memorial Tournament hosted by Dominican College.
