CALDWELL, N.J. - - A late third-quarter run allowed Caldwell to take momentum into the final frame, taking the 83-61 nonconference victory over the Wilmington University women's basketball team on Tuesday night inside the Newman Center.
The Wildcats (1-20) had the game within five points 2:54 to play but then Caldwell (6-14) finished the third quarter on an 11-3 run and then finished off the game by winning the fourth quarter, 15-6.
Aniyah Bond scored five straight points to give the Wildcats an 8-5 lead early on, and then hit another jumper to regain a 10-9 lead with 5:49 to play in the first. Caldwell used a 9-0 run to take a 23-13 lead, but Amber Washington hit her first three-pointer as the quarter was ending, shortening the gap to 25-18.
Amber Washington hit another three-pointer to cap a 6-0 run to get the Wildcats to within 41-34, with 1:57 left before the half. But the Cougars responded with a 5-1 run to end the half, taking a 46-35 lead into the halftime break.
Amber Washington scored the first five points of the third quarter, bringing the Wildcats to within six points, 46-40, quickly. But the Cougars used another 8-0 run to reopen a 14-point margin, but the Wildcats had one more push in them in the third quarter. Washington hit a three-pointer with 4:50 on the clock and then Katie Bushong put in a layup and Cha'Nyah Dunston-Mason hit a three-pointer to cap a 9-0 run, getting the Wildcats to within 54-49 with 3:25 to play in the frame. The Cougars' Brianna Carey and Amber Washington traded three-pointers and the Wildcats were within 57-52 with 2:54 to play in the quarter. Caldwell hit a three-pointer but then Azayah Garrison converted an old fashioned three-point play to get within seven points, but then the Cougars answered with a big three-point to get it back to double digits. After Garrison's three-point play, the Cougars scored the final six points to go into the final frame, 68-55.
Washington and Garrison put in layups to get within 12 points, but then the Cougars rattled off seven points to stretch the lead out to 19 points.
Amber Washington led the Wildcats with 20 points while going 5-for-10 from three-point land and grabbed a team high eight rebounds. Aniyah Bond scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds while Katie Bushong scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting. Trinity Brittingham finished with seven points.
The Wildcats return to CACC play on Saturday as they travel to Post for a cross-divisional contest. The women start the CACC doubleheader in the Drubner Center at 1:00 p.m.