Box score
Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey women's basketball team opened up their 2009-10 season with a hard-fought loss 48-46 to Stevens Institute of Technology.
While the young Lions squad would have preferred a better outcome for their efforts, the positives far outweighed the end result. TCNJ Lions may have found their team identity from the onset of the season as they put forth an aggressive and scrappy style of play to put the Ducks on their heels throughout the game, most notably the second half.
Sophomore Hannah Tait (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) led the Lions with 12 points along with freshman Candace Vigo (New Brunswick, NJ/New Brunswick Health Science Tech) who had a solid all-around game (12 points, three rebounds, two steals, and one block) in her first collegiate contest. Junior forward Kelsey Kutch (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) chipped in with nine points.
The Ducks took control of the game midway through the first half as center Victoria O'Connor (Westwood, NJ/Saddle River Day School) scored six of her eight points in the first half. Stevens increased their lead to 12 points with 2:44 remaining in the first half, but the Lions fought back with a 6-0 run capped Tait's three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the lead to 25-19 at the intermission.
The Lions came out with purpose in the second half and cut the lead to 33-32 with 13:22 remaining when Keri Washington (Ewing, NJ/Pennington Prep) drained a 15-foot jumper. Stevens, led by sophomore guard Dawn Garcia (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Ford), responded by pushing the lead back to 41-37. But Tait delivered her second three-pointer of the game to claw back to within one at 41-40.
TCNJ played suffocating defense late in the game and didn't allow the Ducks to score for over four minutes. With 4:40 remaining, Tait drove in for a lay-up that was good and converted on the free throw to give the Lions their first lead of the game at 44-41.
Stevens sophomore guard Kathleen Schuckers (Lincoln Park, NJ/Morris Catholic) drove the lane and her shot fell after being fouled. She sunk her free throw to knot the game at 46-46. Senior Sarah Gehrig (Spokane, WA/Central Valley) sank a pair of clutch free throws with 1:14 left in the game that proved to be the difference.
The Lions had a few chances in the final two minutes thanks to three straight steals by Washington contest, but the Ducks held on for their first win of the season. O'Connor finished with a game-high 14 rebounds (11 defensive).
TCNJ is back in action on Wednesday, November 18 at 6 p.m. when they host Moravian College at Packer Hall.
