CALDWELL, N.J. – Despite a strong start to Wednesday night's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contest, never trailing in opening half and holding a two-point advantage heading into the final 10 minutes of play, the Concordia College New York women's basketball team could not maintain the lead as host Caldwell University used an 8-0 run in the heart of the final quarter to push ahead in a 71-64 setback.
NOTES
• Concordia falls to 7-20, 5-13 in CACC play.
• Caldwell improves to 11-14, 11-7 in league action.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Sophomore guard Cameron Corbett (Staten Island, N.Y.) fell one rebound shy of a double-double with a team-high 21 points on 7-12 shooting and nine rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Saundra Cleckley (Queens, N.Y.) dished out a team-high three assists to go with four rebounds.
• Sophomore forward Sabrina Clement (Queens, N.Y.) chipped in 11 points with eight rebounds and a block,
• Junior guard Nicole Nicholson (Staten Island, N.Y.) contributed 13 points.
• Junior center Amiya Rankins (Somerset, N.J.) scored 11 points.
• For Caldwell, Andie Lennon scored 26 points with six assists while Tamrin Henderson recorded eight rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Neither side scored in the opening two minutes of the contest, with a Nicholson triple and Cleckley layup back-to-back giving the Clippers a 5-0 lead with 7:23 left in the quarter. Caldwell got on the scoreboard with a layup, while a three-pointer from Corbett on the other end extended the lead to 8-2 with 6:13 left in the frame. The two sides split the ensuing 10 points to keep to keep the six-point separation at 13-7, with Caldwell ending the stanza with back-to-back baskets to create a 13-11 score.
• Corbett kicked off the second quarter with a layup 10 seconds into play, with freshman guard Sara Hopkins (Mountain Top, Pa.) adding a free throw before a Caldwell layup made it 16-13 with 8:47 remaining in the half. Rankins connected on a pair of layups sandwiching a Cougars' basket, with Nicholson responding to a Caldwell three pointer with one of her own while scoring eight of the ensuing 10 points to create a 28-20 lead with 4:27 remaining in the quarter. Neither side connected on consecutive baskets down the stretch, with the Clippers holding a 34-26 advantage at halftime.
• Caldwell began the third quarter on a 7-0 run to make it a one-point game at 34-33 with 8:57 remaining in the quarter. Back-to-back jumpers from Nicholson and Clement created separation, with Corbett responding to a pair of Caldwell free throws to make it 40-35 with 5:21 to go in the frame. The Clippers used a three-point play from Corbett following another pair of Caldwell free throws to hold a 43-37 lead, but a 12-5 stretch for the host created a 49-48 Caldwell advantage with 1:22 remaining in the stanza. Rankins connected on a three-point play with under 30 seconds to go to push Concordia ahead 51-49.
• Rankins extended the lead with the initial basket of the final stanza, only for a 4-0 rally knotting the score with 6:55 left to play. Clement broke the even score with a jumper, doing so again with a pair of free throws following a Caldwell layup only for a triple for the host creating a 58-57 score with 5:24 to play. Caldwell added a layup and three pointer to its lead before a Corbett layup ended the spree and made it 63-59 with 2:27 left to play. Corbett managed to make it a one-possession game at 67-65 off a 5-0 spurt in the final minute, but a Caldwell ended the rally with a jumper with 12 seconds remaining and added a pair of free throws to its total.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Clippers converted on 23-55 shots, going 5-19 from three-point territory and 13-16 from the free throw line.
• Caldwell finished 25-61 from the field, 5-19 from beyond the arc and 16-19 from the free throw line.
• The Clippers dished out eight assists versus nine for the host.
• Concordia committed 19 turnovers, resulting in 18 points for the Cougars. Caldwell committed 10 turnovers, leading to 18 points.
• Concordia held a 37-33 advantage in rebounds.
• Both sides got 14 points from their benches.
• Concordia recorded five steals with one block while Caldwell stole the ball nine times with three block.
UP NEXT
The women's basketball team concludes the 2018-19 campaign on Saturday, Mar. 2 at Post University in a 1 p.m. contest.
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