Box Score

Ewing, NJ... The College of New Jersey women's basketball team battled to a 61-59 overtime victory as sophomore Hannah Tait (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) notched a career-high 25 points to down visiting Rutgers University-Newark.

In a game that featured a combined 19 three-pointers, the Lions' defense was able to hold the Scarlet Raiders to just three points in overtime en route to their third straight triumph. Tait scored five of her team's six points in the extra period to push their record to 9-7 overall, 3-2 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

TCNJ built a 44-34 in the second half, but the Raiders battled back to draw within two points after a pair of three-pointers from sophomore Jared Tactuk (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley). Tait responded with a three-pointer to increase the lead to five with 4:59 to play.

Tait hit another key jumper from the top of the key to make it 56-51, but the Scarlet Raiders refused to go quietly. Tactuk hit a pair of free-throws before junior Martyna Ruminksa (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) drilled another bucket from long range with 1:08 remaining to knot the game at 56.

After the a missed a shot, the top-ranked defense in the NJAC came up big as Rutgers-Newark (7-10, 2-4 NJAC) was called for a shot-clock violation with 22 seconds remaining. TCNJ was unable to convert sending the game into overtime.

Junior Keri Washington (Ewing, NJ/Pennington Prep) finished with 11 points and seven rebounds while senior Karen Lassoni (Edison, NJ/Bishop Ahr) added a season-high nine points and three assists.

Senior Courtney Vacca (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) had a tremendous game notching a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Ruminksa was four-for-eight from behind the three-point line to finish with 15 points while sophomore Tactuk added 14 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

The Lions return to action this Monday, January 16 when they host Centenary College in Packer Hall at 6 p.m. TCNJ returns to conference action on Wednesday, January 20 when they travel to Kean University.

The Scarlet Raiders have the week off before visiting Kean University on Saturday, January 23 for a 1p.m. tip-off.