EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ women's basketball team wrapped up the regular season in dominating fashion on Wednesday night, leading by 23 at halftime on the way to a 62-31 NJAC victory over visiting Rutgers-Newark.

The Lions (11-12, 8-10) are the No. 8 seed in the NJAC tournament and will host a rematch with the No.9 seed Scarlet Raiders in a first-round matchup on Saturday. The conference expanded this year's tournament to include all ten teams, rather than the usual top six finishers.

TCNJ had little trouble in sweeping the regular-season series with Rutgers-Newark for the second year in a row. The Scarlet Raiders misfired on 27 of their first 28 shots and needed more than six minutes to connect from the field in each of the first two quarters.

The Lions limited Newark to just 20.8-percent shooting (11-of-53), the lowest opponent mark in both field-goal percentage and scoring since an 84-19 rout of NJCU in 2018.

After a slow start, the Lions found their footing with a red-hot second quarter and enjoyed a thoroughly balanced effort from their deep roster. Twelve different players got onto the scoresheet, and a dozen also grabbed a rebound.

Reigning NJAC rookie of the week Nina Branchizio led the way with a game-high 14 points for the Lions, while Julia Setaro added 13 on 4-of-6 from 3-point range and Izzy Leazier joined them in double figures with 10.

Setaro matched Sydney Blum and Kaitlyn Deiter for the team lead with five rebounds, and Deiter also managed to hand out a team-high three assists.

Both sides came out ice cold in the early going, combining to miss their first 21 shots from the field until Setaro buried a 3-pointer at the 4:17 mark of the opening period. Newark answered on the other end, but Setaro connected from deep again and Blum rattled in a corner triple to make it three consecutive TCNJ trips with a trey. Arianna McCleod then stepped in front of a pass and took it the other way for a lay-in to make it 13-2 Lions.

The Scarlet Raiders needed more than six minutes to get on the board and by the time they scored again, on a single free throw in the final minute of the first quarter, TCNJ had increased the lead to 15-2 as Morgan Heller muscled in a lay-up. For the frame, Newark shot 1-for-17 from the field.

The Lions maintained their suffocating defensive pace in the second quarter, holding the Scarlet Raiders without a field goal until Ebony Odom Barnes banked in a jumper with just under four minutes remaining to half. TCNJ caught fire at the end of the stanza, getting 3-pointers from Blum, Branchizio, and Leazier – the last two on kick-outs from Isabella Cafaro – on its last three possessions to go into the locker room with a 37-14 advantage. The Lions were 8-for-13 from the field in the quarter, including a sizzling 4-for-6 from deep.

By halftime, nine different Lions had scored, and eight had corralled a rebound. Deiter made the most of her time on the court, grabbing four boards and dishing two assists in under five minutes of action.

Rutgers-Newark scored 10 of the first 16 points of the second half, but Branchizio started to get hot and buried back-to-back treys for the Lions, the second from NBA range to give the hosts a 46-24 lead at the 3:22 mark.

The Lions' bench enjoyed extended run in the fourth quarter, with Jordyn Herwood and Alexis Voorhees each tallying a field goal in the closing minutes.