LEARY REACHES 1,000-POINT MILESTONE IN CALDWELL'S OVERTIME WIN OVER NYACK
2-27-08
box score
 CALDWELL,
N.J. - Senior guard Dana Leary (Bridgewater, NJ/Immaculata) scored
her 1,000th career point with 8:29 to play in the first half as the Caldwell
College women's basketball team outlasted Nyack College, 83-74 in overtime
in the regular-season finale Wednesday night in the George R. Newman Center.
The victory gives the Cougars a 17-10 overall record and a 10-7 mark in the
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, while the Warriors fall to 10-16,
7-10 CACC.
Leary becomes the first Caldwell women's basketball player since 2003 and
the 10th since 1987 to reach the 1,000-point milestone. She has played in
104 games for the Cougars. The win also marked the final home game for
seniors Leary, Khaliqa Davis (Newark, NJ/Bloomfield Tech), Melissa
Freeman (Englewood, NJ/Cresskill) and Phylicia Holmes (Roselle,
NJ/Roselle).
After Davis made 1-of-2 from the line for a 68-66 lead with nine seconds
left in regulation, Nyack's Shelly Yount took an inbounds pass with two
seconds left and hit a lay-up at the buzzer to tie the game at 68-68 and
force overtime. The game was still tied at 72-72 with 2:11 remaining in the
overtime period when the Cougars hit 9-of-10 from the free throw line while
recording four consecutive stops on the defensive end to wrap up the win.
Nyack opened the game with an 11-4 run, but the Cougars battled back to take
the lead with eight straight points. Leary's milestone basket came on a
jumper from the free throw line that put Caldwell ahead 14-13. The first
half remained close, with the Warriors finishing the period with a 10-6 run
to take a 30-27 halftime lead. The lead changed hands six times until a
basket by junior Janay Perkins (Bronx, NY/Walton) put Caldwell on
top, 40-39 with 14:39 to play.
 The
lead grew to as many as eight points after back-to-back lay-ups by Davis off
of steals made the score 57-49 with 7:10 on the clock. Caldwell still led
65-59 with just under two minutes left when Nyack made its move. A
conventional three-point play by Tamyra Lathon, followed by two more Lathon
free throws pulled the Warriors to within one, 65-64 with 29 seconds
remaining. Free throws by junior forward Mackenzie Lynch (Wayne,
NJ/DePaul Catholic) made the score 67-64. After a missed jumper by Nyack,
Caldwell missed on its next two trips to the line, opening the door for the
Warriors. Lathon was fouled and hit two more free throws with 10 seconds to
play to cut the lead to 67-66. Davis was fouled and made just 1-of-2 from
the line, setting up Yount's game-tying basket at the buzzer.
Lynch and Davis each tallied a game-high 21 points to lead Caldwell. Davis
added six assists and five steals, while Lynch grabbed 14 boards and four
steals for her ninth double-double of the season. Leary finished with 14
points, five rebounds and three steals, while Holmes totaled nine points, 10
boards and four steals. The Cougar defense hounded the Warriors all game,
resulting in 18 steals and 24 Nyack turnovers. Kelsy Mcintosh paced the
Warriors with 18 points, while Lathon finished with 16 points and 12
rebounds in the loss. Yount also pitched in 12 points, 13 caroms and five
assists.
The Cougars finished in third place in the CACC North Division and will play
at Bloomfield College on Saturday, Mar. 1 in the quarterfinals of the CACC
Tournament. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. in the Bloomfield Gymnasium.
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