WILMINGTON, Del. – Looking to continue their quest to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship, Coach
Jen Carleton and the Goldey-Beacom College women's basketball team will face Caldwell College in the semifinals of the 2013 CACC Women's Basketball Championship on Friday, Mar. 8 at Bobby Morgan Arena on the campus of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.
Opening tip-off between the Lightning and the Cougars is slated for 12 p.m. in the first semifinal. The winner of Friday's semifinal will face either Dominican College or defending CACC champion Holy Family University on Saturday, Mar. 9 at 4 p.m.
Admission for Friday's semifinals is six dollars for adults and three dollars for children, students with valid college ID and senior citizens.
Now 20-9 on the season, the Lightning advanced to the semifinals for the third time in four years after a convincing 63-42 victory over Post University in the quarterfinals on Saturday at the Joseph West Jones College Center. The Lightning broke away in the first half by going on a 27-6 run over the final 12 minutes of the first half for a 36-16 advantage they did not relinquish.
Senior guard
Devonne Richardson (Milford Mill Academy/Baltimore, Md.) scored a game-high 23 points and added 12 rebounds with eight assists as the Lightning earned their seventh straight win over the Eagles. It was Richardson's team-leading ninth “double double” of the season.
Meanwhile, senior forward
Irene Hudson (Corcoran H.S./Syracuse, N.Y.) contributed 11 points with four rebounds while senior forward
Akilah Sewell (Baltimore City College H.S./Baltimore, Md.) came off the bench to score 10 points with six rebounds and two blocked shots.
A second team All-CACC selection, Hudson is the Lightning's leading scorer with a 12.8 average while shooting 49.1 per cent from the field. Over her last 15 games, Hudson has averaged 15.8 points per game and has a .514 field goal percentage. She also ranks second on the team by grabbing 6.5 rebounds per outing.
Richardson, who earned first team All-CACC notice for the first time in her career, ranks second on the team by averaging 12.2 points per game, but leads the team in rebounds (252), assists (129) and steals (56). She has scored in double figures in seven of her last eight games, averaging 12.0 points per contest in that span.
The Lightning's all-time leader with 1,097 career rebounds, she is one of three active NCAA Division II women's basketball players to record at least 1,000 rebounds in their career. She also ranks among the active leaders in career assists (407), steals (221), free throws made (419) and free throws attempted (649).
Currently 18-11 on the season, Caldwell earned a berth in the semifinals after posting a 72-50 victory over Philadelphia University in last Saturday's quarterfinal game at the Newman Center. The Cougars, who won the CACC North Division title with a 15-4 league mark, will bring a school-record 14-game win streak into Friday's game against the Lightning.
Junior guard
Marielle Duryea (Archbishop Molloy H.S./Middle Village, N.Y.) scored a team-high 13 points in the victory while junior forward
Jeanette Anderson (Lynn English H.S./Lynn, Mass.) posted her 13th “double double” of the season after scoring 12 points with 13 rebounds.
One of two first team All-CACC selections, senior guard
Torey Jones (LaSalle Academy/Providence, R.I.) ranks sixth in the CACC by averaging 16.9 points per game while making 40.1 per cent of her three-point field goal attempts, which is second in the CACC. She also leads the Cougars with 46 steals and is the only Caldwell player to start all 29 games this season.
Meanwhile, Anderson also earned first team All-CACC notice and ranks second on the team with a 15.6 scoring average while making a team-high 47.0 per cent of her field goal attempts. She also ranks third in the CACC by grabbing 9.8 rebounds per game.
The Lightning and the Cougars will be meeting for the 17th time in a series that Caldwell leads by an 11-5 margin. It will be the second meeting this season between the two teams after Goldey-Beacom edged the Cougars by a 55-53 margin on Dec. 8 at the Jones Center. Richardson gave the Lightning the victory by scoring the game-winning field goal with 5.8 seconds remaining, capping a 15-point, 16-rebound performance.
Meanwhile, senior guard
Ashley Rosario (Harry S. Truman H.S./Levittown, Pa.) came off the bench to score a season-high 17 points as the Lightning overcame a 10-point deficit with 10 minutes left in regulation to earn the victory.
Jones scored a game-high 18 points in a losing effort for the Cougars while sophomore forward
Emily Caswell (Prout School/Wakefield, R.I.) grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
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