Mahwah, NJ... The College of New Jersey women's basketball team is getting hot at the right time of the season as the Lions posted their fourth straight win on Wednesday to stay right in the thick of the playoff race. That win came by a score of 62-44 at Ramapo College.
 
The victory put the Lions at 8-8 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference as they continue to jockey for position in the standings. TCNJ, which is 13-10 overall, is tied for fifth place with Rutgers-Newark. Kean University lost on Wednesday and is one spot out of the playoff race in seventh at 7-9. The top six teams in the conference earn a spot in the NJAC Tournament.
 
Montclair State University and Richard Stockton College are tied for first place with identical 15-1 records, while Rowan University is in third place at 11-5. William Paterson University is fourth with a league mark of 9-7.
 
The Lions do have two things in their favor as they enter the final two games of the regular season. They play two teams they are battling with and both of those games will be in Packer Hall. The first of those is a 1 p.m. match-up with William Paterson on Saturday. TCNJ then rounds out the regular season hosting Kean on February 18.
 
Against Ramapo, the Roadrunners kept things close in the opening part of the first half as the hosts led 12-8 with 12:16 left in the period.
 
TCNJ then embarked on a 9-1 run that saw them jump into the lead. Junior Christina Merlin (North Brunswick, NJ/Bishop Ahr) netted the basket that made it a 14-12 game and put the Lions in front for good.
 
A 3-pointer by senior Kylie O'Donnell (Magnolia, NJ/Sterling) capped that run, increasing the lead to 17-13. After a field goal by Ramapo, TCNJ struck again from long range as senior Kelly Coughlin (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) sank a 3-pointer.
 
The Lions finished the half scoring the final seven points of the period as before junior Angelica Esposito (Lincroft, NJ/St. John Vianney) buried a 3-pointer and sophomore Katy Amato (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) and senior Jessica Goldbach (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) each added jumpers sending TCNJ into the break with a 32-17 lead. Goldbach's basket came with just two seconds left in the period.
 
A 3-pointer by Goldbach and a basket by Merlin at the start of the second extended the lead to 37-17, which capped off a 12-0 run that spanned into both halves.
 
TCNJ kept control of the game the rest of the way as they maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the rest of the half.
 
Coughlin led all scorers in the game with 13 points, while Goldbach posted her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Esposito chipped in with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.