CALDWELL, N.J. (Dec. 12, 2011) - Despite a double-double from senior Cierra Baker (Windsor, Conn), who scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, NYIT women's basketball faced a hard-fought 83-69 loss on the road at Caldwell. With the loss, the Bears evened to 4-4 on the season.

The Bears kicked things off right away as senior guard Nikki Jo Rotolo (Rome, N.Y.) knocked down a jumper assisted by Baker, who dished out three assists and had four steals. Caldwell then responded and managed to take a small 18-14 lead with 7:55 remaining. The Bears fought back with baskets by Rebecca Lynch (Hillsdale, N.J.) and Baker, and a deep three-pointer from sophomore Alexandra Venuto (Ossining,N.Y.) gave the Bears a 29-24 lead. NYIT controlled the tempo in the rest of the half but due to some costly turnovers and missed rebounds, Caldwell claimed a 36-33 lead heading into the locker room.

Caldwell quickly gained momentum in the second half with baskets by Torey Jones and Jessica Costa, who gave the Cougars a 10 point lead with 13 minutes left in the game. NYIT kept fighting and a comeback sparked by a Baker put-back and finished with a Lynch layup cut the lead down to five points with 6.52 minutes left in the game. After a time out called by Coach Anthony Crocitto, Caldwell came out more aggressive and managed to slowly pull away to a final score of 83-69.