Ewing, NJ...The College of New Jersey women's basketball team defeated Hunter College in the 2017-18 home opener on Saturday by a final score of 73-60. The Lions improve to 3-1, while Hunter falls to 3-1 on the young season.

The Lions came out of the gates strong in the first quarter, as they built a 27-16 lead. A 17-6 run capped off by a three pointer from Kate O'Leary (Trumbull,CT/Trumbull) made with four seconds left extended the Lions lead to 11. O'Leary was the hot hand early on, as she hit three three pointers in the Lions first quarter run. In the second quarter the Lions offense cooled down, yet the defense stepped up to hold Hunter to only eight points to take a 36-24 lead into the locker room.

In the third quarter, TCNJ was able to grab control of the game with an impressive 17-2 run to push the lead to 55-30. Back-to-back three pointers from Nikki Schott (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills) and Jen Byrne (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) jump started the run. Schott's three pointer was her first on her career. Defensively the Lions again locked in to limit Hunter to nine points in the third, and in the fourth quarter the Lions would not look back to cruise to the victory.

Leading the scoring for the Lions was Byrne, who finished with 21 points on 8-14 from the field. Byrne has started out her sophomore season on an offensive tear as she is currently averaging 22.8 points per game. Shannon Devitt (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) posted her second straight double-double off of the bench with 16 points on 7-8 shooting and 10 rebounds. Charlotte Schum (East Hanover, NJ/Morris Catholic) added 14 points and eight rebounds, while both Schott and O'Leary tallied nine points on the afternoon. For Hunter College, Jade Aponte scored a game-high 30 points.

The Lions won the battle down low, as they out-rebounded Hunter 40-28, and had a 38-18 advantage in points in the paint. Team basketball was on display for the Lions the entire 40 minutes, as they assisted on 22 of their 29 field goals. 

Next up the Lions return to Packer Hall on Wednesday, November 29th as they will face conference opponent Stockton University for a 6:00 pm tip.