Box Score

Ewing, NJ …The College of New Jersey women's basketball team snapped a three-game skid as they defeated Stevens Institute of Technology 72-57 in Packer Hall on Monday night.

Ten players penetrated the scoring column for the Lions led by senior Kelly Roddy (Belmar, NJ/St. Rose), who finished with 14 points. Classmate Liz West (Monmouth Beach, NJ/Shore Regional) had a strong interior presence throughout the contest, tallying 11 points and collecting four rebounds. Sophomore guard Angelica Esposito (Lincroft, NJ/St. John Vianney) also reached double figures with 10 points on three-of-five shooting.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Astel (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech) poured in a game-high 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor for Stevens. Senior forward Avis Benjamin (Queens, NY/Mary Louis Academy) nearly reached a double double with 11 points and eight boards, while freshman Erica Guketlov (Spotswood, NJ/Bishop Ahr) chipped in with 11 points.

The Lions battled their way through a sluggish start, but played impassioned basketball over the final 30 minutes to improve their season mark to 12-6. The offense began to click, while their defensive effort forced the Ducks (11-7) to take a variety off-balance shots. They connected on just 21-of-69 shot attempts in the game.

It was a slow start offensively for both teams, but the pace of play was intense. Heavy pressure on both ends of the floor resulted in low-percentage shooting and a host of early turnovers. The score was just 11-10 Lions with 8:50 to play in the period, but the offense gained momentum through the rest of the half.

With 5:08 remaining, West bounced a pass out to Esposito and she promptly drained a shot from behind the arc. After a West steal, she found Esposito in the identical spot and she knocked down another to put the Lions in command 27-19.

The back-to-back 3s by the sophomore guard seemed to establish poise on offense for TCNJ, who were coming off a tough overtime loss to Kean University on Saturday.

The Ducks battled back to close the gap to 30-28 off a jumper by Astel. The Lions responded by rattling off the final seven points off the half, capped by a Colleen Duffy (Spotswood, NJ/Spotswood) layup from a Christine Merlin (North Brunswick, NJ/Bishop Ahr) feed with three ticks on the clock to send the Lions to the locker room ahead 37-28.

After knocking down both three-point attempts in the first half, Roddy hit two more in the opening three minutes of the second half to stretch TCNJ's cushion to 45-33. A 13-3 run over a four-minute span extended the Lions' advantage to 63-45 with under seven minutes left in the game.

Stevens did do a terrific job under the glass, amassing 50 rebounds on the night. But 18 turnovers proved costly as they lost for the second time in their last three games.

Junior Kelly Coughlin (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) finished with nine points, while junior Kylie O'Donnell (Magnolia, NJ/Sterling) dished out four assists. Merlin added seven points and seven rebounds in the win.

The Lions return to New Jersey Athletic Conference play this Wednesday, taking on Richard Stockton College at 6 p.m. in Packer Hall. Stevens will host Nazareth College on Friday at 8 p.m.