STATEN ISLAND, N.Y -- Junior guard Jah'Nel Lewis (Jersey City, N.J.) scored 24 points and senior forward Lucy Coogan (Kilkenny, Ireland) added 22 points and both nailed key free throws down the stretch as Caldwell women's basketball earned a hard-fought, 67-64 triumph over Staten Island at Sports & Recreation Center on Tuesday evening in a non-league contest.

Two free throws by Lewis tied the game at 61 with 1:19 left in regulation, and after a Dolphins turnover, Lewis drove to the goal and gave CU its first lead of the game with a pair of free throws with 46.3 seconds to play.

After a Dolphins free throw cut their deficit to 63-62, a shot clock violation gave the hosts the ball with 11.8 showing on the clock. The Cougars defense held, with Coogan grabbing her game-high 14th rebound, then hitting two free throws to extend the lead to 65-62. CSI's Kyra Rose hit a straight-on two pointer with her toe just on the line, before Coogan made two more foul shots for the final tally.

CSI jumped to an 8-0 lead, eventually taking a nine-point lead on several occasions, the last at 27-18 four minutes into the second quarter. A three-pointer by freshman guard Jessiah Reynoso (Passaic, N.J.), layup by sophomore guard Sofia Maldonado (Jackson Heights, N.Y.) and follow-up bucket by junior forward Harmony Earth-Wiley (Southfield, Mich.) got CU (12-6) back within two at the second-quarter media timeout at 3:23.

CSI closed the quarter on an 6-1 run for a seven-point lead, 33-26, at the break.

After the Dolphins (7-12) re-established a nine-point edge, the Cougars rallied, knotting the score at 49 with a 10-3 run to close the third quarter, capped by a Lewis right angle three as the period closed, marking the game's first tie since 0-0.

Caldwell next visits Goldey-Beacom in a CACC matchup in Wilmington, Del., on Saturday.