Jersey City, NJ … The College of New Jersey women's basketball team shot 48 percent from the floor in cruising to an 82-62 victory over New Jersey City University on Saturday afternoon.
 
The win snapped a three-game skid for the Lions and pushed their record to 3-5 and 2-3 in New Jersey Athletic Conference contests. The Gothic Knights dropped to 3-7 overall and 0-5 in NJAC play. The 82 points was the highest offensive output for TCNJ this season.
 
Four TCNJ players reached double figures in the triumph led by 13 points from sophomore Kate O'Leary (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull). Senior Kim Dana (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Twp.), junior Nikki Schott (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills), and freshman Christine Woods (River Edge, NJ/River Dell) each netted 11 points apiece. Junior Charlotte Schum (East Hanover, NJ/Morris Catholic) showcased her versatility on the floor, finishing with nine points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
 
It was a strange game for the Lions as they were extremely efficient shooting and rebounding, but struggled taking care of the basketball. TCNJ hit 26-of-54 shots and held a 52-29 advantage under the boards. But they turned the ball over 23 times as NJCU racked up 14 steals. Schott was a major factor in the Gothic Knights shooting just 31 percent from the field. She blocked five shots and altered others with her strong presence in the paint.
 
A jumper by Woods gave the Lions a 10-8 lead with 4:07 left in the first quarter. A three-pointer by junior Cindy Napolitano (Wall, NJ/St. Rose) gave TCNJ a five-point cushion and they would not relinquish their lead the rest of the contest. They rattled off nine unanswered points and were up 22-10 at the end of the first.
 
NJCU stayed with the Lions in the second period, in large part due to the play of Tu' ziah Hall. She scored 12 points in the opening half and copped four steals in the first 20 minutes.
 
Both teams tallied 19 points in the third quarter. The Gothic Knights threatened to cut their deficit to single digits when Atonie Johnson scored to make it a 58-47 game. But junior Chiara Palombi (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan) banked in a layup at the buzzer to put TCNJ up by 13 entering the final period.
 
A three-pointer and layup by O'Leary followed by a three-point field goal off the fingertips of Dana put the game out of reach. Another three by Dana later in the period capped a 10-0 run as the Lions secured their second conference road win of the season.
 
Hall finished with a game-high 30 points on 10-of-20 shooting.
 
TCNJ shot 48 percent from behind the arc, knocking down 9-of-19 attempts. Six different players drained 3s and 11 different players marked the scoring column.
 
The Lions will play their final home game of 2016 next Saturday, December 17 when they host Delaware Valley University in Packer Hall at 1 p.m.