ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The TCNJ women's basketball team fell behind early against SUNY New Paltz on Saturday afternoon and couldn't recover as it fell, 62-54, in the Rochester Tipoff Tournament. Julia Setaro led the Lions with 16 points and seven rebounds. Arianna McCleod had 15 points, five rebounds and three steals.
 
New Paltz used a strong first quarter to take early control of the game. After Setaro made a three pointer with 7:51 left in the first to make it 5-4 New Paltz, the Lions failed to score again for the rest of the quarter. New Paltz scored the final 13 points of the quarter to take an 18-4 lead at the horn. New Paltz scored the first bucket of the second period to extend the run to 15-0 before a Setaro layup halted the streak.
 
TCNJ regained its footing in the second period, outscoring New Paltz, 18-13, in the quarter. That cut the TCNJ deficit to 31-22 at the half.
 
The Lions went on separate 7-0 runs in the quarter to help close the deficit. Trailing 23-6, Jezlyn Cross completed a three-point play to jump start the first run. That cut the lead to 23-13. After six straight from New Paltz, the Lions again scored seven of their own. Setaro had a three-point play in that stretch.
 
The Lions kept the game in the two-possession range for most of the third quarter, but New Paltz pushed the advantage to 47-37 by the end of the period.
 
Setaro and McCleod each scored midway through the fourth quarter to cut the lead to three points, but New Paltz didn't allow the Lions to get a possession while only trailing by one score. New Paltz converted on each of its possessions following those scores.
 
Emily Toy had seven rebounds to tie Setaro for the team lead.
 
TCNJ opens the home portion of its schedule on Wednesday against Stevens at 6 p.m.