LEARY, COUGARS TOPPLE RAMS, 79-71
1-11-07
box score
 CALDWELL,
N.J. - Junior guard Dana Leary (Bridgewater, NJ/Immaculata) scored a
career-high 24 points to help the Caldwell College women's basketball team
come back from an 11-point second half deficit to defeat Philadelphia
University, 79-71 Tuesday night in the George R. Newman Center. The Cougars,
who shot a season-best 52.7 percent from the field, improve to 5-6 overall
and 4-4 in the CACC with the win, while the Rams fall to 8-4, 7-2 CACC.
After a Leary lay-up put the Cougars ahead 11-10 at the 15:38 mark of the
first half, Philadelphia reeled off 10 straight points to ignite a 22-4
onslaught that gave the Rams a commanding 32-15 advantage with just under
eight minutes left in the half. But the Cougars fought back, out-scoring
their opponents 20-8 the rest of the half. Junior guard Khaliqa Davis
(Newark, NJ/Bloomfield Tech) scored nine points and sophomore forward
Mackenzie Lynch (Wayne, NJ/DePaul Catholic) had six in the run that made
the score 40-35 Rams at the break.
Caldwell eventually cut the lead to two after a conventional three-point
play by junior guard Phylicia Holmes (Roselle, NJ/Roselle) made it
42-40 with 17:44 left. Philadelphia's Alisha Ferguson scored seven points as
the Rams used an 11-2 run to jump out to a 53-42 advantage with 14 minutes
on the clock. Three three-pointers from senior guard Shannon Coyle
(Matawan, NJ/St. John Vianney) in a span of five minutes, 45 seconds, helped
to bring the Cougars to within 63-60 at the seven-minute mark. After a pair
of free throws by Ferguson, Caldwell scored seven straight points, including
five from Davis, that gave the Cougars their first lead of the second half
and sparked a 12-2 run for a 72-67 advantage with 2:22 remaining. The Rams
responded with two free throws from Meg Abele, only to have Lynch score two
straight baskets to give Caldwell an insurmountable 76-69 lead with a minute
to play.
Leary went 10-of-12 from the field en route to her best offensive
performance of her career at Caldwell. Davis also reached a career high,
scoring 18 points while dishing out four assists. Coyle finished with 15
points, Lynch had 13, and Holmes recorded a team-best six rebounds to go
with a career-high seven assists and five points. Caldwell made 29 of their
55 attempts from the floor and turned the ball over a season-low 14 times,
including just five times in the second half. Philadelphia was led by
Ferguson's 24 points and 12 boards, with Abele, the CACC's leading scorer,
pitching in 22 points.
The Cougars return to action on Saturday, Jan. 13, when they face
Goldey-Beacom College in a CACC game. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in
Wilmington, Del.
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