Camden, NJ … The College of New Jersey women's basketball team suffered a 65-61 defeat at the hands Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday night in Camden, NJ.
 
The Lions (9-8, 5-5 NJAC) trailed by 17 points in the fourth quarter and made a late charge to cut the deficit to one point with less than a minute to play. But the Scarlet Raptors survived the rush by making enough free throws to move to 11-5 on the season and 6-4 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Senior Angelica Esposito (Lincroft, NJ/St. John Vianney) and sophomore Nikki Schott (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills) led TCNJ with 12 points. Junior Kim Dana (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) dished out seven assists to complement eight points and senior Christina Merlin (North Brunswick, NJ/Bishop Ahr) led the Lions with seven rebound and also tallied six points.
 
RUC held a 42-40 lead with under five minutes to play in the third, but an 11-2 run to finish the period created some distance. An 8-0 run to start the fourth period stretched the Scarlet Raptor advantage to 59-42.
 
TCNJ answered with a 13-0 run in the fourth, punctuated by a three-point field goal off the finger-tips of sophomore Charlotte Schum (East Hanover, NJ/Morris Catholic). That made it a 59-55 game with 4:14 to play. Two free throws by Dana cut the margin to 62-61 with 51 seconds left, but RUC held on in the final minute to secure the home victory.
 
The Lions return home this Saturday when they host Montclair State University at 1 p.m. in Packer Hall. With a potential snowstorm in the forecast, check tcnjathletics.com for any schedule updates.