WATERBURY, Conn. – For the sixth straight season, Post University Women's Basketball will be heading to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament as a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double for freshman guard Jasmine Day-Cox's first collegiate double-double on 7-for-9 shooting along with 28 points from senior guard Naj White helped the Eagles take down second-place Caldwell University, 71-58, in Sunday afternoon's make-up game.

As it stands now, the Eagles still have an outside shot at earning a CACC Quarterfinals game at home, sitting at 7-7 in conference play, which is good for third place in the CACC North, while the Cougars, with a game in hand, are 7-6 this season and the two teams split their two matchups during the campaign. 

THE BASICS

Post University 71, Caldwell University 58

Post University (8-18, 7-7 CACC)
 
Caldwell University (13-11, 7-6 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Junior guard Lucy Coogan would give the Cougars an early two-point lead in the first 1:04 of the first quarter, but two points would be the largest lead for Caldwell as they would only lead during the opening frame. Trailing 9-7, senior guard Jayden Burns kicked off a 7-0 run for the Eagles, giving Post a 14-9 edge as Day-Cox finished it off with a jumper. Post would be led by White in the first quarter, dropping seven points on 3-for-5 shooting, while Coogan had a team-high four points for the Cougars and only two after her early free throws.

Straight out of the gate in the second, a Finnerty three and layup from Day-Cox helped the Eagles mount their first double-digit lead of the afternoon, 24-13, as Post continued to maintain their lead, which grew to as many as 14 points with 2:48 left in the half. Leading by eight points, 39-31, at halftime, the Eagles shot 16-for-34 (47.1%) from the floor, knocking down 5-for-14 (35.7%) of their threes.

White had a team-high 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting, as did sophomore guard Jah'Nel Lewis, who shot 6-for-10 from the field with two made threes. As a team, the Cougars were only 11-for-29 (37.9%), making half of their threes but only taking two of them through the first 20 minutes. On the boards, Post held a large 23-16 advantage in which Day-Cox had the most of any players with six on her way to her double-double. 

However, graduate guard Sophia DeMauro's jumper at the 8:45 mark of the third would be the start of a 9-0 run that got the Cougars back into the game after trailing by 10, 41-31, throughout a five-minute stretch. Breaking up the run would be junior forward Nicole Parks with a pair of free throws, and with the game tied at 43, all following a three from Lewis, a responding three by Burns gave the Eagles the lead for good, heading into the fourth quarter up one, 46-45.

The comeback by Caldwell to tie the game was the second straight game in which Post would lead by double-digits in the first half only to squander the lead in the third and finish with fewer than 10 points. In the last game, the Eagles led Felician University by 17 points at the halftime break before being outscored 25-8 in the third, while today, they were outscored 14-7 by the end of the frame. 

Leading only by one, Day-Cox got the offense going for Post to start the fourth with a three-ball, which sparked a responding 9-0 run in over the first 4:05 to regain their double-digit lead, 55-45. From there on out, Caldwell would be unable to cut their deficit down to fewer than eight points while the Eagles pushed it to a game-high 15 points with inside a minute to go in the game, en route to their third straight win, 71-58. 

BY THE NUMBERS  

• Jasmine Day-Cox recorded her first collegiate double-double after scoring 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting while tacking on 11 rebounds -- Day-Cox has recorded double-digit rebounds in three games so far this season now 
• Naj White had another big performance for Post University after going off for 28 points on 10-for-21 shooting and hitting 7-of-9 free throws -- White has scored 20-plus points in two of her last three games 
• Leading the way for Caldwell University, Jah'Nel Lewis played all 40 minutes, scoring 23 points on 8-for-17 shooting while making 4-of-8 threes but only 3-of-10 free throws 
• With the win today, Post University has won three straight games for the first time this season -- The last time the Eagles won three or more straight games was from January 23rd, 2024, until February 14th, 2024, when they won six straight games 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University finishes the home portion of their schedule next Saturday when they host Senior Day against Bloomfield College at 1:00 PM in the Drubner Center. Earlier this season on the road, the Eagles fell by 14 points to the Bears, 59-45, snapping a nine-game winning streak in the all-time series.