GALLOWAY, N.J. – A back-and-forth battle with Stockton went against the TCNJ women's basketball team on Wednesday night. Stockton held off the Lions to earn a 58-55 victory. Julia Setaro paced the Lions with 14 points. Arianna McCleod scored six points with five rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
 
TCNJ and Stockton entered Wednesday's contest among the four teams tied for second place in the NJAC, and the tautness of the scoring margin through belied that fact. Neither team led by double digits, and Stockton held its biggest lead at 44-36 with 9:33 to play in the fourth quarter.
 
At that point, TCNJ went on a 9-0 run. If the Lions had prevailed in the end, the story would have been Emily Toy's large part in that comeback effort. She scored seven of the nine points on that run, including a three pointer with 6:34 to play to cap the run, handing the Lions a 45-44 advantage. She finished with eight points, second on the team to Setaro's 14.
 
Sydey Blum hit a pair of jumpers on back-to-back possessions, including one at the end of the shot clock as teams traded the lead through the middle portion of the quarter. Setaro hit a three to give TCNJ a 52-50 lead with 2:20 to play, but Stockton rattled off the next seven points for a 57-52 lead with 21 seconds left.
 
Out of a TCNJ timeout, Morgan Heller drained a three from the left wing with 9.9 seconds to play to cut the Osprey lead to 57-55. After a quick foul, Grace Sacco split her free throws to keep the game at one possession. TCNJ took the ball in the front court with 9.2 seconds left, trailing 58-55.  
 
Stockton had a foul to give, and it took it with 5.9 seconds left. The Ospreys elected to not foul again with the lead at three points, and tight defense validated that decision. Blum received a pass on the left wing as time winded down, and her potential game-tying shot as the horn sounded was blocked.
 
Neither team shot well from deep, as TCNJ went 4-for-22 from three-point range while holding Stockton to 3-for-12. The Lions did go 3-for-6 in the fourth quarter.
 
Nine different Lions scored in the first half as TCNJ carried a 27-26 lead into the intermission. McCleod led the balanced attack with six points on 3-of-4 shooting. The Lions led for the majority of the half, taking their largest lead at 25-19 with 4:09 remaining in the second on a McCleod layup. Stockton went on a 7-2 run to end the half, but TCNJ held onto the one-point lead in part by holding Stockton to just 27.6 percent from the field for the half.
 
Of TCNJ's five losses this season, four have come by six points or fewer. All have come by single digits.
 
TCNJ returns to action on Saturday at home against New Jersey City at 1 p.m.