Ewing, NJ …The College of New Jersey women's basketball team notched its fifth consecutive victory as they defeated New Jersey City University 67-58 on Saturday afternoon in Packer Hall.
 
The Lions improved to 8-5 on the season and are now 3-4 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference standings. The Gothic Knights dropped to 6-7 overall and 1-6 in the NJAC.
 
Senior Kylie O'Donnell (Magnolia, NJ/Sterling) dished out a career-high nine assists to lead TCNJ to its second straight conference triumph. Senior co-captains Kelly Coughlin (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) and Jessica Goldbach (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) each scored a team-high 12 points, while freshman Nikki Schott (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills) also reached double figures with 10 points.
 
Junior Deseree Johnson (Red Bank, NJ/Monmouth Regional) posted a game-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Sophomore Bria Smith (Bayonne, NJ/St. Dominic Academy) was one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds.
 
The Lions quickly erased a three-point deficit at halftime, shooting 66 percent in the second half and 50 percent overall in the game. They also held a major advantage under boards, out-rebounding the Gothic Knights 42-26.
 
It was a back-and-forth battle in the opening minutes of the contest. NJCU held a 16-15 lead at the 13:06 mark of the first half when Johnson hit a short jumper. The Lions responded with a 14-2 run over the next six minutes. The offensive outburst was a balanced attack as five different players registered points during the scoring spurt.
 
O'Donnell got things rolling when she converted a conventional three-point play. Schott dropped in a layup before O'Donnell found herself again at the free throw line and knocked down both attempts. Schott scored again before Coughlin, Goldbach and junior Christine Merlin (North Brunswick, NJ/Bishop Ahr) each found the bottom of the net for a 29-18 advantage.
 
But the Gothic Knights answered back and did so with authority. They rattled off 17 of the next 19 points to take a 35-31 lead. Johnson led all scorers in the opening period with 14 points as NJCU was on top 35-32 at the break.
 
The Lions stormed out of the locker room and quickly took control of play. Their execution in transition was seamless and they outscored the Gothic Knights 11-2 in under four minutes to regain command of the contest.
 
TCNJ could not seem to pull away until Coughlin and O'Donnell combined to put the game out of reach with five minutes remaining. Coughlin connected on back-to-back three-pointers off feeds from O'Donnell to extend the Lions' lead to 13 points. NJCU battled hard, but couldn't recover as TCNJ remained stubborn on defense in the final minutes.
 
O'Donnell finished with eight points and Merlin had a solid game 10 points and eight rebounds. Goldbach grabbed a team-high nine rebound and was also one board shy of a double-double. Junior guard Angelica Esposito (Lincroft, NJ/St. John Vianney) contributed eight points and three assists.
 
TCNJ continues its regular season schedule on Monday when they visit Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. The game is schedule for 6 p.m.