Glassboro, NJ – The College of New Jersey women's basketball team clinched a home game in the opening round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament as the Lions pulled away from host Rowan University in the second half for a 70-57 triumph on Saturday.
 
The win wrapped up that second seed for the Lions in the NJAC South Division as the team improved to 7-4, while third place Richard Stockton is three games back with three games remaining. TCNJ, which is 15-8 overall, holds the tiebreaker with the Ospreys sweeping both games in the season series. The Lions will host that opening-round game against the third seed from the North Division on Saturday, February 18.
 
Kean University will be the top seed from the South Division as the Cougars are undefeated in NJAC play, while the Profs dropped to 2-9 and 8-14.
 
The Lions opened the game with a 3-pointer from senior Hannah Tait (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) and the teams stayed close throughout the half. Three points was the largest lead for TCNJ in the opening frame, while the Profs used a four-point margin for their biggest advantage.
 
TCNJ again took advantage of its accuracy from behind the arc as sophomore Tiffany DeTulio (Colts Neck, NJ/Colts Neck) drained a trey giving the Lions a 23-21 lead with 4:29 left in the half.
 
The Lions maintained that lead for the rest of the period going into the break with a 27-25 lead.
 
The second half started just like the first only this time it was senior Jessica Imhof (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) hitting a 3-pointer  the initial possession making it a 30-25.
 
Later in the period, DeTulio sank another shot from long range putting TCNJ out to a 43-37 lead and the next time down the floor Imhof dialed one in from 3-point range quickly ballooning the lead to nine points.
 
TCNJ kept rolling from there taking its biggest lead at 55-39 and never let Rowan any closer than 10 points until there was just over a minute left in the contest.
 
Imhof recorded her first double-double of the season as she had a game-high 19 points and snared 10 rebounds. While Imhof had a big game, the senior had plenty of support with three other Lions reaching double figures. DeTulio had 13 points with Tait getting 11 and Kelsey Kutch (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) had 10.
 
TCNJ finished the game making 10 3-pointers, which tied a season high.
 
The Lions play their final home game of the regular season on Wednesday when they host division rival Kean at 6 p.m. in Packer Hall.