Camden, NJ… The College of New Jersey women's basketball team raced out to a big lead and never looked back as the Lions picked up a big conference win at Rutgers University-Camden on Wednesday by the score of 66-54.
 
The win put the Lions in a tie with Ramapo College for third place in the New Jersey Athletic Conference with a league mark of 8-4. TCNJ has already clinched a spot in the conference tournament with four league games remaining. Overall, the Lions are 14-7.
 
The loss dropped the Scarlet Raptors to 8-12 overall and 3-10 in the conference.
 
Junior Tiffany DeTulio (Colts Neck, NJ/Colts Neck) paced the Lions with a career-high 17 points, including a 3-for-6 performance from behind the 3-point arc. Sophomores Kelly Coughlin (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) and Kylie O'Donnell (Magnolia, NJ/Sterling) each scored nine points, while senior Candace Vigo (New Brunswick, NJ/New Brunswick Health Science Technology) chipped in with eight. Sophomore Jessica Goldbach (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) had a balanced game with six points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
In all, TCNJ had 10 different players score points and displayed a very unselfish offense as 23 of the team's 25 field goals were assisted.
 
The Lions gained control right from the start rattling off 19 of the game's first 21 points covering the first 8:29 of the contest. TCNJ carried that big lead into the half leading the Scarlet Raptors 32-16. DeTulio led the charge for the Lions during the opening 20 minutes scoring eight points in the period, including a pair of 3-pointers.
 
DeTulio gave TCNJ its biggest lead at 44-18 five minutes into the second half hitting her third 3-pointer of the game. The Lions later matched that advantage, but held off a late surge by the hosts to pick up the win.
 
TCNJ returns home this weekend for another key conference game hosting Rutgers-Newark at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 2. Game time is 1 p.m.