Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

The Official Home of Goldey-Beacom College Athletics

Bruno15-8net
85
Goldey-Beacom GBC 13-16
87
Winner Caldwell University CALDWELL 19-10
Goldey-Beacom GBC
13-16
85
Final
87
Caldwell University CALDWELL
19-10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Goldey-Beacom GBC 27 47 11 85
Caldwell University CALDWELL 33 41 13 87

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Basketball Dealt Heartbreaking Overtime Loss at Caldwell in the CACC Quarterfinals



Freshman Lexi Bruno (Millville, NJ) scored a season-best 30 points and did everything she possibly could, but Goldey-Beacom's season ended with a gut-wrenching 87-85 overtime loss at Caldwell in the CACC Tournament quarterfinals in Caldwell, NJ.
 
The Cougars held a 68-56 lead with 5:41 left on Sharell Sanders' layup and owned all of the momentum.  The Lightning had a tough time finding their offensive touch, but then picked it up with a 12-4 run to close to 70-66 with 2:14 remaining.  Freshman Reighly Melochick (Pottsville, PA) ended the burst with a 3-pointer and Bruno also connected from beyond the arc in that stretch.
 
Caldwell's Emily Caswell went to the floor hard on a clean foul, but bounced back to hit twice from the line with 1:59 to play for a 72-66 game.  GBC on its next possession saw freshman Britani Bryson (Hampton, VA) get a huge offensive rebound, hit the layup and convert an old-fashioned three-point play with 93 seconds to play for a three-point contest.
 
Caswell missed a jumper on the other end and the Lightning got the ball back with a chance to equalize.  Bruno made sure her team took advantage, getting the ball at the top of the key and drilling a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left for the first tie of the half, 72-72.
 
It was her 65th and final 3-pointer of the season to set a new school record, breaking the mark of 64 established by Jacinda Jones in 2012-13.
 
Unfortunately, GBC was assessed a bench technical foul after the bucket and Caswell hit twice from the line for a 74-72 margin.  But the Lightning got the ball back via the possession arrow following a bad inbounds pass and a subsequent held ball.
 
GBC again showed patience and it was Bryson who came through, sticking a jumper with 9.2 seconds left for a 74-74 tie.
 
Freshman Mikila Stefanski (Hammonton, NJ) then fouled Sanders in the backcourt with 5.7 seconds remaining, but the latter missed on the front end of a 1-and-1.  Goldey-Beacom senior Lillian Chukwueze (Cherry Hill, NJ) got the ball, had her half-court shot blocked, retrieved the rebound and misfired on a 40-foot attempt at the buzzer.
 
Caldwell in the overtime got a big 3-pointer from Kristen Drogsler with 1:56 to play for an 85-81 margin.  After Chukwueze hit a layup, Drogsler converted twice from the line with 1:04 to play for an 87-83 cushion.
 
Chukwueze on the next possession rebounded her own miss, was fouled and hit two free throws for an 87-85 margin with 49 seconds left.  Lisa Rovatsos missed two layups for the Cougars and the Lightning had yet another chance.
 
The visitors came out of a timeout with 21 seconds left, worked the ball around and got it to senior Taylor Leonard (Lake Katrine, NY), who faked twice but saw her three-point attempt bounce off the rim.  Melochick dove to get the loose ball, but could not find a teammate and time ran out.
 
Bruno, the league's Rookie of the Year as well as a second-team All-CACC pick, shot 12-of-28 from the field over 43 minutes and also had five assists to end her school-record total with 146.  Bryson amassed 12 points and 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.
 
Chukwueze had 20 points and 10 rebounds in her final game.  The first team All-CACC selection ends her two-year career at GBC eighth with 904 career points, seventh with 72 three-pointers and just outside the top 10 with 446 rebounds.
 
For her career that includes two seasons at Rutgers-Camden, Chukwueze scored 1,428 points.  She also had 424 points this season for the seventh-best mark in GBC history.
 
The Lightning (13-16), who were playing in the CACC Tournament a sixth straight year, shot 44 percent (16-of-36) from the floor in the second half and 39 percent (31-of-79) overall.  It was the squad's second tough overtime loss this season to the Cougars that included a 96-92 decision February 14 in Wilmington.
 
Caswell showed why she is the league's Player of the Year, scoring 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting and adding 16 rebounds in playing all 45 minutes.  Drogsler poured in 24 points and Rovatsos added 10 for the Cougars (19-10), who shot 4-of-7 in the extra session and 44 percent (30-of-68) overall in getting their fifth overtime victory this season.

 
Print Friendly Version