HOBOKEN, N.J. – The TCNJ women's basketball team wound up on the low end of a see-saw battle with Stevens on Wednesday night, dropping a hard-fought 63-56 decision to kick off a three-game road swing.

The Ducks (3-1) went ahead with just over five minutes to play – the last of 13 lead changes on the night – and held on from there in a stylistic contrast that pitted the hosts' interior prowess against the Lions' long-range predilections. TCNJ made nine 3-pointers, but it took the visitors 30 attempts to do so, while Stevens managed a 6-for-11 performance from beyond the arc and shot 44.6 percent overall to the Lions' 35.6 percent.

Nina Branchizio led TCNJ with 13 points and Izzy Leazier paired 12 points with seven rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Julia Setaro had 10 points and Sydney Blum was close to a double-double with eight points and eight boards.

Neither side led by more than eight in an evenly-matched affair that went to the final frame with the Ducks leading by one, 45-44. Eight lead changes followed, each side trading baskets until a lay-up by Danielle Cornetta gave Stevens the upper hand for good at 53-52. Jess Broad knocked down back-to-back jumpers to open up a five-point margin, and even though TCNJ twice got within three, the last on a lay-in by Kaitlyn Deiter with 2:11 to go, the Ducks never relinquished their advantage.

The Lions (2-2) started hot, getting a pair of 3-pointers from Setaro and leading by as many as five (13-8) on a free throw by Jezlyn Cross. Stevens, however, went on a 9-0 run bridging the end of the first quarter, setting off a tug-of-war that lasted all 40 minutes.

Branchizio's triple capped a five-point spurt and regained the lead for the Lions at 27-26 late in the first half, but the Ducks scored on their next two trips before Leazier got the blue and gold back within one with a lay-up just before the halftime buzzer.

Branchizio gave TCNJ a 32-30 edge with a 3-pointer to open the third quarter, but a 10-0 burst eventually gave the hosts a 42-34 advantage midway through the period. The Lions closed the frame with a flourish, a 7-0 run that began with a Leazier 3-pointer and ended with a pair of Setaro free throws to close within 45-44 heading into the last 10 minutes. That set the stage for the back-and-forth finale.

Elissa Nsenkyire and Broad scored 17 points apiece to lead Stevens, which got 12 from Leyla Castro and 13 rebounds from Amber Porrett, whose dominance helped the Ducks to a slim 37-34 advantage on the glass.

Deiter did a little bit of everything for TCNJ, tallying six points, five rebounds, and four assists without a turnover. Rookie Katie Fricker gave the Lions four points, three rebounds, and two assists off the bench, and Blum had two blocks.

TCNJ stays on the road to face Moravian on Saturday.