Gwynedd Valley, PA … The College of New Jersey women's basketball team opened its season in winning fashion as they defeated Salisbury University 58-45 in the opening game of the 2016 Gwynedd-Mercy Tip-Off on Friday night in Gwynedd Valley, PA.
 
The Lions (1-0) will await the winner of the Misericordia/Gwynedd-Mercy match-up and play that team in the tourney championship game tomorrow at 2 p.m.
 
TCNJ struggled with its shooting from long distance, but got the job done from the free-throw line as they converted 20-of-24 foul shots. The Lions played with a lead for over 38 minutes in the game and led by as many as 17 points midway through the third quarter. The Sea Gulls made a late push and cut the deficit to three points with 3:38 to play, but TCNJ rattled off the final 10 points of the game to capture the win.
 
Junior Nikki Schott (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills) led TCNJ with 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting and was one rebound shy of a double double. Rookie Jen Byrne (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) tallied 12 points in her collegiate debut and also grabbed four boards and dished out three assists. Junior Charlotte Schum (East Hanover, NJ/Morris Catholic) had a solid opener with seven points, eight rebounds, and a pair of steals.
 
Sea Gull Lauren Rothfeld knocked down a three-pointer just 10 seconds into the contest, but the Lions responded with nine unanswered points. Schott dropped in her first two shots of the season before sophomore Katie O'Leary (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) buried a 3-pointers. Byrne netted her first collegiate bucket with 6:49 remaining in the opening quarter and TCNJ was quickly up 9-3.
 
The Lions led by 10 at the end of the first period, and a three-point field goal by junior Cindy Napolitano (Wall, NJ/St. Rose) to close out the half put TCNJ up 29-15 at the intermission.
 
Tight defense gave the Salisbury shooters fits all evening, as they shot at a 26 percent clip in the game. The Lions permitted just one basket in the opening five minutes of the second half and stretched their lead to 38-21 after another bomb from behind the arc of the fingertips of Napolitano.
 
The Sea Gulls flashed some offense in the fourth quarter, surging to a 12-2 run. Mary McDonough found her shooting touch from the outside, draining three treys in the final quarter. Salisbury closed the gap to 48-45 with 3:32 left on the clock, but a pair of free throws by Byrne, a layup by Schott, and two more free throws by senior Kim Dana (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Twp.) iced the opening triumph for TCNJ.
 
Dana finished with five points, three assists, and four boards.
 
The Lions will play in the tournament championship game tomorrow at 2 p.m.