PHILADELPHIA -- Senior guard/forward Lucy Coogan (Kilkenny, Ireland) drained the game-winning 3-point shot with 1:29 left, then made two clutch free throws to ice a 48-45 CACC Caldwell women's basketball victory at Thomas Jefferson in the Gallagher Center. 

Trailing, 45-42 with 2:07 left, a free throw by sophomore Sofia Maldonado (Jackson Heights, N.Y.) pulled CU to within two points. On the ensuing Rams possession, junior guard Jah'Nel Lewis (Jersey City, N.J.) pulled down a key rebound after a TJU miss. After a time out, Lewis then rifled a pass from the right wing across to a wide open Coogan on the left, who swished the go-ahead basket.

But the Cougars needed another stop, which they got when tight on-ball defense by Maldonado and a late double-team by Lewis led to a Rams turnover with under a minute to play.

Jefferson rebounded a Cougars miss and had another chance to go ahead, but junior guard Brooke Corbett (Staten Island, N.Y.), last season's CACC Defensive Player of the Year, took a charge under the basket with 3.1 seconds left before Coogan's free throws cemented the victory.

Coogan scored a game-high 17 points and added 12 rebounds. She picked up her fifth double-double.

Junior guard/forward Shauntia Alexander (No. Plainfield, N.J.) tied her season-high with 11 points.

Caldwell (20-7, 13-6 CACC) and Jefferson (17-10, 11-8 CACC) were locked in a defensive battle, with both teams shooting under 30%.

The Cougars snapped a 14-game losing streak to Jefferson. It was their win against their CACC foe since 2018.

With the win, Caldwell secured a home game in the quarterfinal round of the CACC Tournament on March 3. Caldwell University's Newman Center will serve as host of the Semifnals and Finals on March 7-8.

The Cougars will close out their regular-season slate next Super Saturday at the Newman Center against the first-place Holy Family Tigers at 3 PM.