UNION, N.J. – The TCNJ women's basketball team proved the adage 'It's not how you start, it's how you finish' in Wednesday's game at Kean, falling into an early double-digit hole before outscoring the hosts by 13 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 67-54 NJAC road win.
Julia Setaro led four players in double figures with 17 points as the Lions (4-4, 2-2) snapped a brief two-game skid and evened both their overall and conference records in one stroke.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Cougars found themselves up by 11 only six minutes in, running off 12 straight points to go up 18-7 at the 4:03 mark
- Isabella Cafaro answered with a 3-pointer for TCNJ, which scored the last 12 of the period and went ahead 22-20 on three free throws by Nina Branchizio in the closing seconds
- The Lions closed the second quarter on another run, holding the Cougars without a point for the final 3:57 of the half and reeling off eight in a row to go into the break with a 36-29 lead. Arianna McCleod's short jumper gave the blue and gold the lead at 30-29, and consecutive 3-pointers by Setaro and Branchizio extended the lead to seven at the half
- TCNJ looked to have put the game away after scoring the first eight points of the third quarter, extending its overall run to 16-0 as back-to-back three-point plays from Natalie Kolb and Setaro, plus another Setaro bucket, made it 44-29 with 7:01 to go in the frame
- Leading 46-31, the Lions went cold, and Kean countered with a 17-0 run over a span of three minutes and change
- Down 48-46 after the Cougars' furious rally, TCNJ pulled even on Grace Kowalski's bucket in the final seconds of the third
- That set up a decisive fourth quarter, and the Lions dominated it. They went in front for good on McCleod's 3-pointer to make it 53-50 with 8:02 to go, and a 3-pointer by Cafaro followed by a basket from Setaro extended the margin to double digits (60-50) with 4:41 remaining. The Cougars got no closer than eight the rest of the way.
FOR THE FOES
- Rookie Gissel Gamble was terrific for the hosts, scoring a game-high 24 points and making all 11 free throws
- Riley Ahrens had 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, but the rest of their teammates went just 5-for-31 from the field
- Kean shot 33.3 percent overall (18-of-54) and 27.8 percent from long range (5-for-24), including 7-for-27 from the floor after halftime
STANDOUT LIONS
- Setaro finished 7-for-14 from the field and pulled down six rebounds
- Branchizio scored 14 points and made three 3-pointers
- Kowalski had 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Cafaro came up with 11 points and six rebounds
- Izzy Leazier scored just two points but contributed in other ways with five rebounds and four assists
NOTES
- TCNJ snapped a two-game losing streak in the series
- The Lions shot 43.3 percent from the field (26-for-60) and held a 39-33 advantage on the glass
- Behind Kowalski and McCleod (7 points), TCNJ outscored the Cougars, 20-0, in bench points
- Kaitlyn Deiter played for the first time in four weeks after suffering an injury, posting two rebounds, three assists, and a block in 13 minutes
- The victory was the 99th of head coach Chessie Jackson's career
UP NEXT
- TCNJ hosts Montclair State on Saturday
