EWING, N.J. – The last 10-to-11 months have presented everybody with challenges and uncertainty. There was much uncertainty about whether a 2020-21 basketball season would be possible, yet the TCNJ women's basketball team has been granted an opportunity to compete in an eight-game, NJAC-only season, a chance which they are very thankful for. The 2021 season begins on Friday, Feb. 5, against Stockton at home. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m.

"The main word that comes to mind is gratitude," TCNJ head coach Chessie Jackson said. "Gratitude from me to just be on the court with the team in any capacity, and gratitude from our players in the sense of treating every day like it could be the last day of the season. That has led to a lot of fun in practice."

Jackson enters her fourth year at the helm of the program. She owns a 55-27 record with the Lions including a dominant 42-12 mark in conference play. The Lions have made an appearance in the NJAC Semifinals in each of the last three seasons.

This year, the Lions will be led by seniors Shannon Devitt and Elle Cimilluca. Devitt put forward another strong season in her junior campaign with an average of 16.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Devitt's productive career has put her among the all-time leaders in TCNJ history. She is second in rebounds with 867 boards, third in blocks with 174 rejections, and 13^th in scoring with 1,092 points. Devitt earned D3Hoops.com Second Team All-Region and First Team All-NJAC honors in the 2019-20 season.

"We are all really excited to play this year," Devitt said. "With the pandemic going on, we are very grateful for the opportunity to get on the court with each other and work on getting better at basketball every day. We aren't taking it for granted. We are really excited to see what this team has in store in the future."

Cimilluca returns as the Lions' point guard for her senior campaign. Last season, Cimilluca tallied 125 assists, which was good for second in the NJAC and 11^th-most in a single season in TCNJ history. Cimilluca had a career day in TCNJ's first-round NJAC Tournament victory over William Paterson last season. She scored a career-high 21 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out five assists.

The senior class is rounded out by Jane Beiermeister and Natalie Miller. After the quadrant of seniors, the remainder of the Lions' roster is loaded with youth, as TCNJ has seven sophomores and seven freshmen.

The sophomore class will be led by Morgan Heller, Sydney Blum, and Mollie Brueggemeier, who all saw significant playing time last season. Heller started in all 27 games, Blum played in all 27 games, and Brueggemeier played in 23. The sophomores will look to take on a bigger role this season, and help lead the freshman class.

The promising group of freshmen have already made an impact on the Lions in the preseason. 

"The freshmen are so skilled, competitive, and hardworking," said Jackson. "They get after it. It's helpful that there are seven of them, so they are competitive in their own group. They are really close. I think being able to come onto campus and live in the same dorm in January right away helped them become best friends and it's clear. It's a really good, versatile, and athletic group."

The 2021 schedule is set for an eight-game season with home-and-home series each weekend. The Lions will travel to Stockton to face the Ospreys on Saturday after the opener at home on Friday. Next weekend, TCNJ plays Rutgers-Camden at home on Feb. 12 and on the road on Feb. 13. Kean and William Paterson round out the schedule for TCNJ on the following two weekends.

The Lions are looking to make the most of a season unlike no other. Amidst all of the uncertainty, uncontrollable variables, and adversity, the team will use its tight-knit camaraderie to move forward, regardless of the obstacles it may face.

"Being a part of this is a great opportunity," Cimilluca said. "At the end of the day, we preach family, that we have each other, and we have a good opportunity to be a part of something this year that a lot of people don't have a chance to. Overall, we have been preaching about group camaraderie and family."

"I think whenever you go through difficult challenges with a group of people, it's going to end up bringing the group closer together," Jackson said. "I definitely see tighter bonds among the players, and I feel more connected to the players than I have before because we have been going through this year of adversity together. We have had to find creative ways to stay connected with each other virtually, and they have had to come up with creative ways to stay in shape and continue to work on their game. They have had to really lean on each other. That is one sort of silver lining in all of this, that I think the team is more connected and closer together, which is surprising since they spent so much time apart."

Follow the action all season on tcnjathletics.com. Due to state public health regulations, no in-person fan attendance is permitted.

Fans can watch the live stream of the games at https://tcnjathletics.com/sports/2018/4/20/webcasts.aspx ,
and follow the live stats at https://tcnjathletics.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary .

Stay up to date with the action with the TCNJ Athletics' social media accounts as well, on Facebook (The College of New Jersey Athletics), Twitter and Instagram (@TCNJLions).