New York, NY …The College of New Jersey women's basketball team captured its biggest win of the season as they defeated Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus 59-56 in the opening round at the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament hosted by Lehman College.
 
The Lions (4-6) advance to the tournament championship game tomorrow against Lehman, who defeated St. Elizabeth University 78-50 in the early game. TCNJ will meet the Lightning (7-4) at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
 
Opening the game with an 11-2 run provided the Lions plenty of confidence to compete against a Devils program that won a national title in 2014 and reached the Elite 8 last season. TCNJ never looked back and used its depth to frustrate the Devils (7-4). The Lions bench outscored FDU 25-6, led by a team-high 11 points off the finger-tips of sophomore Cindy NapOlitano (Wall, NJ/St. Rose). Senior Jess Lynch (Newtown, CT/Newtown) contributed 10 points, while junior guard Kim Dana (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) tallied eight points and dished out five assists.
 
A three-point field goal by freshman guard Kate O'Leary (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) gave TCNJ an 11-2 advantage with 1:42 remaining in the first period. The Devils responded with a run of their own and surged to a 24-19 lead with 2:53 in the half. But a three-pointer by Napolitano followed by a layup from Christina Merlin (North Brunswick, NJ/Bishop Ahr) knotted the game at 24. The Lions trailed again by two points, but Napolitano struck once ore from behind the arc to give TCNJ a 30-29 halftime lead.
 
FDU came out strong in the second half and cruised to a 37-32 lead. TCNJ retaliated with a 9-0 run capped by a layup from senior Angelica Esposito (Lincroft, NJ/St. John Vianney). A pair of free throws by Dana put the Lions up by two entering the final period.
 
A big reason TCNJ has picked up four wins out its last five games is its team defense. They came up big again on the defensive side, holding senior standout Shalette Brown to just 10 points and four rebounds. She entered the game average a double-double with 17.9 points per game and 14.7 rebounds. The Lions permitted just 12 points in the final period as Esposito drained a pair of free throws in the final seconds to lock up the win.
 
Esposito finished with nine points and six rebounds. Sophomore Nikki Schott (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills) enjoyed a strong performance, dropping in nine points and grabbing eight boards. Merlin added six points and cleaned up the glass four times.
 
Devil guard Danielle Leguillou pumped in a game-high 19 points, while Alyssa McDonough registered a double-double with 12 point and a game-high 13 boards.