CALDWELL, N.J.- Caldwell University women's basketball senior
Halle Brown (Downingtown, Pa.) dropped in a career-high 24 points to power the Cougars past the University of Bridgeport 77-65 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest.
The Cougars improve to 6-7 on the season and 2-3 in the CACC, while the Purple Knights drop to 7-7 and 3-3 in conference play.
Brown drained an early three-pointer, totaling eight first quarter points, whole freshman
Alisa Blalock (Uniondale, N.Y.) added six points to help the Cougars build a 16-8 lead midway through the quarter. The Purple Knights rallied late to take an 18-17 lead after the opening quarter.
Brown scored five points early in the second quarter to push Caldwell back in front 24-18. Bridgeport battled back as they pulled ahead 36-31 late in the half. Senior
Rebecca Morrison (Ayrshire, Scotland) connected on a triple in the final minute to cut the score to 36-34 at halftime.
Bridgeport pushed their lead to 10 points at 48-38 early in the second half. Caldwell trimmed the score to four points at 48-44 midway through the third quarter following a lay-up by senior
Jessica Wagoner (Clifton Park, N.Y.). The Purple Knights answered to push their lead back to nine points at 53-44 but the Cougars closed the quarter with an 11-2 run. Senior
Imogen Cook (North Berwick, Scotland) drained a triple in the run, while Morrison scored four points, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds to even the score at 55.
The teams traded leads to start the final quarter with Bridgeport pulling even for the final time at 60 with 6:56 left in the game. Caldwell broke the game open down the stretch, closing the game with a 17-5 run, including 12 straight points to pull away over the final six and a half minutes. Freshman
Lucy Coogan (Kilkenny, Ireland) drained a pair from downtown, scoring eight points in the run, while Brown added a triple with seven points in the game-deciding run.
Brown shot 3-for-6 from downtown, scoring a career-high 24 points along with three rebounds and four assists. Coogan shot 2-of-4 from behind the arc, finishing with 17 points, three boards and two assists. Morrison totaled 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Graduate
Saundra Cleckley (Far Rockaway, N.Y.) tallied six points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals.
The Cougars return to action on Saturday, January 7 as they host Goldey-Beacom College in a CACC contest at 1 pm.
