Ewing, NJ… The College of New Jersey women's basketball team (11-3, 6-1 NJAC ) defeated Rutgers Newark (6-9, 1-7 NJAC) on Wednesday night in a New Jersey Athletic Conference match-up by a final score of 71-52. Kate O'Leary (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) led the Lions with 17 points.

In the opening period, Samantha Famulare (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Twp.) hit a three pointer off of a feed from Charlotte Schum (East Hanover, NJ/Morris Catholic) to cap off an 8-2 stretch to give the Lions an 18-8 advantage. The Lions were up 27-19 with six and a half minutes left in the second quarter, and pushed the lead to 16 with a 10-2 stretch, and they were locked in from three point range in the first half as they shot an impressive 8-12 from downtown.

The Scarlet Raiders climbed back into the game in the third quarter and cut the deficit to seven points as they Lions held a 47-40 lead with just under five minutes remaining. Nikki Schott (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills) scored from in close on a strong low post move with 3:21 to play to put the Lions up nine. A couple of possessions later, Schott forced a turnover and Famulare scooped up the loose ball and converted on the fast break to put the Lions up 51-41 with over two minutes left. In the fourth quarter, the Lions were up 52-45 when Schum forced a turnover on the defensive end, and found Jen Byrne (Medford, NJ/Medford) on the fast break. Schum scored on a strong take to the hole after receiving a feed from Schott to put the Lions up 56-45. The defensive low post presence came from Schott, as she blocked four shots in the fourth quarter to help the Lions stay on top. O'Leary sank two three pointers in a row to push the Lions lead from nine to a more comfortable fifteen with two and a half minutes to play.

O'Leary scored 17 points on 5-10 shooting including 4-7 from beyond the arc. Schott scored 15 points on 5-10 shooting, and filled up the stat sheet with six rebounds, six blocked shots, four assists, and two steals. Famulare added 13 points on an efficient 5-6 shooting including 3-3 from downtown. Byrne scored eight points and grabbed a team high 12 rebounds, and Shannon Devitt (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) added eight rebounds coming off of the bench. Schum finished the night with 10 points, six assists, and five rebounds.

The Lions won the battle on the glass, as they out rebounded the Scarlet Raiders 44-29, and played unselfish basketball as they totaled 20 assists on 24 field goals. After the Scarlet Raiders scored the opening two points, the Lions held the lead the remainder of the game.

The Lions return to action with another conference match-up against Montclair State on the road on Saturday January 13^th.