Box Score

Ewing, NJ … The College of New Jersey women's basketball team ran up against a tenacious defense as they dropped a 62-55 decision to Rutgers-Newark in Packer Hall on Saturday afternoon.
 
The loss drops the Lions to 2-2 in New Jersey Athletic Conference play and 9-5 overall. The Scarlet Raiders (10-3, 3-1) notched their 10^th win of the season and third straight.
 
Junior Liz West (Monmouth Beach, NJ/Shore Regional) led TCNJ, falling one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards. Senior Jessica Imhof (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) also had 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists in defeat.
 
Sophomore ShaQuanna Marshall (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Catholic) had a game-high 19 points for Rutgers-Newark, while senior point guard Kendra Johnson (Easthampton, NJ/Lenape) had a terrific game scoring 16 points, grabbing eight boards, swiping six steals, and dishing out four assists.
 
The Lions were in control for the majority of the contest, but the Scarlet Raiders, who entered the game averaging 29.8 forced turnovers per game, employed a high-pressure defense throughout. They forced 21 TCNJ giveaways and held the Lions held without a field goal for the final 4:23 of the game, in large part due to their swarming defensive play.
 
The Lions, who lead the NJAC in three-pointers made per game (6.6), got off to a solid start in the game as four different players drained shots four from long distance in the opening period. Senior Hannah Tait (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) drilled her 20^th three-point field goal of the season to open the scoring. The two teams traded punches until TCNJ strung together a 9-0 run midway through the first half to take command of the contest.
 
The Lions pushed the lead to as many as 11 points as senior Kelsey Kutch (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) hit a short jumper with 3:17 to play to go up 29-18. But Rutgers-Newark rattled off the final six points before the buzzer to make it a 29-24 game at the break.
 
West scored the first six points to open the second half to stretch the lead to 35-24. RN's Johnson responded by nailing a three-pointer and then assisted on a pair of buckets to quickly close the gap to four. After a Johnson steal, Smith then drove the lane and dropped in a circus shot to make it a 35-33 with 15:05 to play.
 
Rutgers-Newark eventually evened the score when freshman Sharee Gordon (Newark, NJ/University) converted a basket underneath to tie the game at 43. Johnson then fed senior Lori Nieves (North Plainfield, NJ/North Plainfield) on a fast break to give the Scarlet Raiders a 46-44 advantage at the 8:46 mark.
 
The game went back-and-forth over the next seven minutes. TCNJ guard Kelly Coughlin (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) knocked down a three-pointer with 6:20 remaining to give the Lions 49-46 advantage, but it would be their last. Rutgers-Newark scored back-to-back buckets in transition to take the lead and hit foul shots down the stretch to earn the road victory.
 
Junior Candace Vigo (New Brunswick, NJ/New Brunswick Health and Science Tech.) had a strong effort for the Lions, contributing eight points and eight rebounds. Senior Katie Occhipinti (Millington, NJ/The Pingry School) also had four assists and three steals in the game.
 
TCNJ returns to the floor in Packer Hall on Monday night when they take on Alvernia University at 7 p.m.