EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ women's basketball team opened the 2022-23 campaign on the right foot, using a balanced effort to separate from Hunter for a 64-46 victory inside Packer Hall on Tuesday night.

Nina Branchizio scored a team-high 13 points and added six rebounds for the Lions, who also got 11 from Julia Setaro and a career-high 10 off the bench from Jezlyn Cross. Six different players scored at least seven points and five grabbed at least four rebounds.

TCNJ began to pull away at the end of a turnover-filled first quarter, taking an 11-3 lead after two free throws by Sydney Blum and a three-point play by Setaro.

Cross gave the Lions a spark off the bench in the early portion of the second stanza, taking an outlet pass from Setaro after the senior stripped a Hawk forward and finishing a scoop layup through contact for a three-point play. Later in the period, Cross kicked out to Branchizio for a deep triple and a double-digit lead at 19-9, then drove the lane for another bucket to make it 21-11 at the 3:39 mark.

The hosts turned defense to offense a couple minutes later as Blum swatted a Hunter layup and corralled the rebound before Katie Fricker found Emily Toy for a corner 3-pointer. Branchizio's second trey of the half, an NBA-range effort on a kick-out by Blum, beat the buzzer and sent the Lions into the locker room with a 29-14 advantage.

TCNJ came out of the break firing on all cylinders, scoring on its first three trips to open up a 20-point lead. Leazier sandwiched a pair of layups around a 3-pointer by Setaro – assisted by Leazier – as the Lions went ahead 34-14 barely a minute into the third.

The Hawks went on a 12-0 run to pull within eight (36-28) around the midway point of the third, but the Lions restored order – and a double-digit surplus – with a pair of hustle plays to key a 9-0 spurt of their own. First, Leazier connected with a cutting Blum for a basket and a foul. She missed the free throw, but Fricker came sprinting in to grab the loose ball and banked in a layup while getting fouled. She converted the three-point play, and the margin swelled to 47-28 as Leazier passed ahead for a transition triple from Branchizio at the 2:32 mark.

Cross helped push the lead back over 20 with an assist to Blum and a driving layup of her own, then split a pair at the line to make it 52-33 after three quarters.

TCNJ led by as many as 22 (62-40) in the fourth quarter before settling on an 18-point spread.

Setaro collected four rebounds and also swiped five steals, matching Cross for the team lead as the Lions forced 23 turnovers and turned them into 21 points. Toy and Leazier each scored eight points, with Leazier also tallying six rebounds and four assists.

Cross finished 3-of-4 from the field and 4-of-5 at the line, and her 10-point, 5-steal stat line was all the more impressive given that it came in just nine minutes of game action.

Blum was a defensive force, pulling down eight of her game-high 10 rebounds in the first half and adding seven points and three blocks to her line. TCNJ outrebounded the Hawks, 37-30, and held a 13-5 advantage on the offensive glass.

Fricker posted five points and a pair of rebounds in her collegiate debut.

Alexa Charles was a dynamo for Hunter, posting a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 steals.

The Lions head to New England over the weekend for Smith College's Tyler Tip-Off Tournament, where they'll meet Rhode Island College in the opening game on Saturday. Tip is set for 4 p.m. from Northampton, Massachusetts.