Senior Day program

Ewing, NJ …The College of New Jersey women's basketball team took a giant step towards qualifying for the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs as they defeated William Paterson University 78-68 on Saturday afternoon in Packer Hall.
 
The Lions notched their fifth straight conference win and improved to 14-10 and 9-8 in league play. They are currently in fourth place and will eagerly await the results of the Kean University/Richard Stockton College game at 3 p.m. If the Ospreys defeat the Cougars, TCNJ will clinch a berth into the NJAC championship tournament.
 
The Lions took the lead just over five minutes into the contest and never gave it up. The Pioneers did everything in their power to wrestle it away, but TCNJ was too good on offense and too determined on defense to relinquish their on Senior Day.
 
Senior Kyle O'Donnell (Magnolia, NJ/Sterling) had a tremendous day on the floor with a season-high 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting and also dished out a game-high six assists. Senior Jessica Goldbach (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) tallied 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while junior Christina Merlin (Bishop Ahr, NJ/North Brunswick) was a force underneath with 10 boards and six points.
 
Junior Brittany Harden (Millville, NJ/Sacred Heart) put forth a great effort for WPU, finishing with a  game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Ashley Marfo (Bergenfield, NJ/Bergenfield) also reached double figures with 10 points and eight rebounds, while junior Alex Milne (Howell, NJ/Howell) added six points and seven boards
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The Pioneers netted the opening four points of the game, but the Lions responded with an 18-4 run over the next nine minutes. O'Donnell and Goldbach played spirited basketball, leading the charge with seven and six points respectively. TCNJ hit some big shots from long range to take control of the contest as O'Donnell, junior Angelica Esposito (Lincroft, NJ/St. John Vianney) and freshman Cindy Napolitano (Wall, NJ/St. Rose) each connected from downtown
 
Trailing 25-12, the Pioneers scored on four of their next five possessions, but could not gain ground. Esposito drained a three-pointer and Goldbach dropped in a pair of free throws. Senior Kelly Coughlin (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) then provided the Saturday crowd with the highlight of the game. In transition, she received a bounce pass and was tripped up as she grabbed it. She immediately snapped off a pass to a streaking Merlin before she hit the ground. Merlin banked in a layup to finish off the play and the Lions up 34-20.
 
For the half, TCNJ was far more active under the boards and held a 25-16 rebounding advantage. Their 10 offensive boards led to 14 second chance points, which was a major factor in the 39-26 halftime advantage.
 
WPU battled and cut its deficit to single digits just three minutes into the second half, but Coughlin nailed a three-point shot from above the free throw line to the push lead back to 44-32. The Pioneers built up some momentum again with baskets from Mary Haines (Ridgefield Park, NJ/Ridgefield Park) on consecutive trips down the floor to pull within nine. But Esposito answered with a long ball to stretch the Lions' lead to 51-42 with 13:10 remaining.
 
Neither team would relent in the final 10 minutes. WPU continued to apply pressure and chip away and TCNJ would find a way to respond. The Pioneers cut the lead to six with just under six minutes left on the clock, and following a timeout, O'Donnell drilled a 3 from the left side.
 
With the lead back down to four points, the senior point guard delivered another clutch basket as she dropped in a short running jumper from the baseline. Sophomore Katy Amato (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) found the bottom of the net on a 15-foot jumper and then a 12-footer from the baseline with 1:30 remaining to put the game out of reach. Amato finished with a career-high 11 points.
 
Esposito finished with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Coughlin added eight points and Amato also collected six grabs underneath the glass.
 
TCNJ will host Kean University in its regular season finale on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. in Packer Hall.