RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Caldwell University women's basketball team began Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play tonight with an 81-65 victory at Felician College Tuesday evening at Job Gymnasium. The win is the third in a row for the Cougars, who are now 3-2 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Golden Falcons drop to 1-5, 0-2 CACC.

Caldwell led from start to finish, scoring the first eight points in building a 12-2 advantage over the first five minutes of the game. A 14-2 run that included three-pointers from sophomore guard Antoinette Pilla (Scarsdale, NY/Ardsley) and freshman guard Kristen Drogsler (Middle Village, NY/Christ the King) pushed the lead to 32-11 with 7:11 left in the half. The Cougars were up 40-17 before Felician scored the final four points of the half to make the score 40-21 at the break. Senior forward Emily Caswell (Wakefield, RI/Prout School) had a double-double in the half with 10 points and 11 boards, as the Cougars shot 53.3 percent from the field compared to 23.1 for Felician.

In the second half, the Golden Falcons reduced the lead to 50-36 before Caldwell used an 18-7 run to put the game out of reach, 68-43 with 7:38 to play. The Cougars ended up shooting 47.1 percent from the floor compared to 31.6 percent for Felician for the game. Caldwell also was more efficient at the line, shooting 11-of-12 while the Golden Falcons went to the line 22 times but made 13.

Caswell finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double in five games this season. Junior forward Lisa Rovatsos (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) tallied the first double-double of her career with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with four steals. Senior guard Jessica Coscia (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) matched her career high with 12 points and delivered seven assists. Eliana Scanlon led Felician with 15 points, six rebounds, seven assists and six steals.

Caldwell heads to New Hampshire to face Franklin Pierce University in a non-conference game on Saturday, Nov. 29. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. in Rindge, N.H.