Box Score
BLOOMFIELD, N.J. – The Caldwell College women's basketball team held off a furious comeback to defeat Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference rival Bloomfield College, 57-54 in the regular-season finale Tuesday night at the Bloomfield Gym. The Cougars head into the CACC Tournament with a 16-10 overall record and a 14-5 mark in league play. The Lady Deacons, who already had clinched the North Division, drop to 17-9, 15-4 CACC.

Bloomfield came all the way back from a 16-point deficit to tie the score at 54-54 following a conventional three-point play by Morgan Taylor with two minutes left. The teams both came up empty on their next two possessions, including two Bloomfield turnovers. With time running down, junior forward Emily Caswell (Wakefield, RI/Prout School) drove to the basket and made a lay-up with less than eight seconds to play for a 56-54 Caldwell lead. After a Lady Deacons missed lay-up, senior forward Jeanette Anderson (Lynn, MA/Lynn English) made 1-of-2 from the line to make the score 57-54. A desperation three-pointer was off the mark, giving the Cougars the win and a split in the season series.

Caldwell controlled the game early, building a 23-11 advantage before taking a 34-20 lead at halftime. Caswell scored a team-leading nine points, as the Cougars shot 57.1 percent from the field while holding the Lady Deacons to 25.7 percent in the first half. After freshman forward Alyssa James (Rosedale, NY/St. Mary's) made the first basket of the second half, Bloomfield reeled off the next 12 points en route to an 18-4 run that tied the score at 38-38.

Four points from senior guard Marielle Duryea (Middle Village, NY/Archbishop Molloy) and a conventional three-point play by Anderson sparked a 9-0 run that put Caldwell back on top, 47-38 with 10:24 remaining. Again the Lady Deacons battled back, closing to within one point twice before Taylor's three-point play tied the score at 54-54 and set up Caswell's heroics.

The Cougars shot just 26.1 percent from the floor in the second half and were out-rebounded, 51-32 for the game. But Caldwell outscored Bloomfield 20-4 at the line, shooting 76.9 percent from the charity stripe for the game.

Caswell finished with 13 points and nine rebounds to lead the Cougars, who also received 12 points, five boards and five blocks from James. Anderson contributed 11 points and five rebounds, and junior guard Jessica Coscia (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) added 10 points. Ariel Wilson was the only Bloomfield player in double figures with 10 points, while Tierra Scott grabbed 15 rebounds.

With the regular season now complete, Caldwell turns its attention to the CACC Tournament, which begins on Saturday, Mar. 1. The Cougars, seeded second in the North, will host the South's third seed, USciences, on Saturday in the George R. Newman Center at either 2:00 p.m. or 4:30 p.m.