CALDWELL, N.J. – Down but never out, Post University Women's Basketball once again staged a late-game comeback, this time on the road against Caldwell University on Wednesday night, after falling behind the Cougars by as many as 15 points in the third quarter. Sophomore forward Alyssa Rossignol led the way with 15 points while senior guard Naj White followed close behind with 14 points, but a 22-point game from junior guard Lucy Coogan helped Caldwell hold off that rally, snapping Post's two-game winning streak with a 63-58 win. 

THE BASICS

Post University 58, Caldwell University 63

Post University (4-14, 3-4 CACC)
 
Caldwell University (9-8, 4-2 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both sophomore guard Jah'Nel Lewis and Coogan finished out the first half with double-digit point totals with Lewis scoring a team-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting while Coogan had 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting to lead the Cougars in their 18 minutes each. As for the Eagles, it was a familiar face in Rossignol leading the scoring with seven points on 3-of-9 shooting, but Post only led once in the entire half.

Senior guard Jayden Burns scored the first basket of the game before a 4-0 run gave the Cougars their first lead of the affair. While the Eagles tied things up at four, six, and 10 they would never lead again in the first quarter as Lewis' 10-point frame gave Caldwell a nine-point lead, 23-14, heading into the second. Continuing to control the game, a 9-0 run started by Lewis' lone bucket in the quarter hurdled the Cougars to a game-high 17-point lead, 37-20, with 3:58 left in the half.

Kicking off what would be a half-ending 5-0 run to get the Eagles back within 12 points, 37-25, Rossignol's score and graduate guard Erin Harris' three-point play cut into the Cougar lead before both teams went cold for the final 2:16 heading into halftime.
 
Caldwell was led primarily by a 9-for-14 (64.3%) performance from the field in the first quarter, helping lead to a 44.8% shooting half while two consistent quarters of shooting sent Post into the half at 36.7% after going 11-for-30 overall without making any of their six threes. 

After trimming their deficit down to seven points, 39-32, in the early stages of the third, five points from Coogan helped the Cougars manufacture a 7-0 run that doubled their lead to 14 points and eventually topped out at 16 points, 52-36, following a three from sophomore guard Brianna Carey with 3:16 left. But as she has done over the past few games, Rossignol got the Post offense going with back-to-back threes to help them end the quarter on a 7-0 run, bringing the deficit down to single digits, 52-43, with still one quarter left of action. 

White kicked off the fourth with a jumper to end what would be a 9-0 run for the Eagles between both quarters, but after Caldwell struck back, they would get their lead back up to double digits at 10 points with only 4:22 to go in regulation before Post made their last comeback attempt. A trio of baskets for the Eagles led to a 6-0 run over the next 2 1/2 minutes, making it a four-point game, 59-55, with 1:55 remaining when a turnover by Carey threatened to make it a one-possession game before Harris turned it back over moments later, leading to two made free throws by Coogan after the foul.

A missed three by Rossignol gave Caldwell the ball back where Lewis missed two free throws and after a pair of missed shots from the Eagle offense, sophomore guard Hannah Finnerty's three-ball made it a three-point game, 61-58, with still 29 seconds left. Two more free throws from Coogan followed by a turnover from Finnerty would bring the game to a close as Post came up just short in their second-half comeback with a 63-58 defeat. 

BY THE NUMBERS  

• Alyssa Rossignol continued her double-digit point streak, extending it to four games in a row and seven of her last eight after scoring 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting with 2-of-5 made threes 
• Lucy Coogan led Caldwell University with 22 points, going 5-for-15 from the floor but a near-perfect 10-for-11 from the free throw line while grabbing seven rebounds 
•  Naj White shot a team-best 7-for-11 from the field for Post University, scoring 14 points and falling just short of a double-double after picking up seven rebounds in the loss 
• After winning the previous seven head-to-head matchups, Post University has now lost the last two games against Caldwell University, both of which have come on the road 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University returns home for a weekend matchup against Jefferson University scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM in the Drubner Center before starting a three-game road trip. The Eagles have never beaten the Rams in program history, sitting at 0-21 all-time and falling last season by a 74-53 final score on the road.