EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ women's basketball team fell victim to a huge fourth-quarter run by visiting Ramapo on Saturday, dropping a wild 77-75 decision in an overtime thriller on Senior Day.

Karly Wittenbauer's stunning tip-in with 0.9 seconds left handed the Roadrunners a shocking come-from-behind victory and put TCNJ's chances of hosting a first-round NJAC playoff game in serious jeopardy.

The Lions (15-9, 10-7) – who honored Sydney Blum, Mollie Brueggemeier, Beth Grossman, Morgan Heller, and Julia Setaro in a pregame ceremony – led by 16 going into the final frame before the Roadrunners caught fire, using an improbable 21-3 run to pull ahead with just over 90 seconds remaining. Nina Branchizio's clutch 3-pointer sent the game into an extra session, and it appeared a second one was imminent when Jackie Ventricelli's runner bounced off the back rim. But Wittenbauer came flying in and swatted the ball out of midair and perfectly into the hoop with less than a second remaining, and TCNJ was unable to get off a final shot.

With the win, Ramapo (16-8, 10-7) completed a season sweep of the Lions and now has the inside track to earn the No. 4 seed and a first-round home game next Saturday.

Despite the heartbreaking setback, TCNJ still clinched a playoff berth with Montclair State's loss to Kean. The Lions need a win at Rutgers-Newark combined with a Ramapo loss to William Paterson in Wednesday's regular-season finale to overtake the Roadrunners for the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage. Otherwise, a trip to Ramapo for a rematch is likely in the offing.

Trailing 21-15 early in the second quarter, the Lions embarked on an extended run that swung the pendulum in their favor. Isaballa Cafaro stole a pass and drew a foul on the break, sinking both free throws to kick-start the spurt. The junior then scored on a hard cut and a pin-point pass from Myah Hourigan-Hutton before Izzy Leazier drove and kicked out to Branchizio for a long-range triple that gave TCNJ the lead at 22-21.

The run was far from over, as Setaro spun in a lefty scoop. After a Ramapo double-dribble (their third of the half), Leazier converted an old-fashioned three-point play before finding Cafaro for a nifty reverse that made it 31-21 at the 1:54 mark. The 16-0 spree lasted 4:31 of game time and featured eight straight scoring possessions for the Lions, who entered the halftime break with a 33-25 advantage.

Cafaro was terrific in the first half, scoring nine points on 3-for-4 from the floor while adding three rebounds and a pair of steals. Her first shot set the tone, a high-arcing 3 from the top of the key on a pick-and-roll action.

The good vibes continued after the intermission, with Heller scoring plus a foul and then kicking out to Blum for a right-wing trey that made it 38-25. The Lions made six of their first seven shots in the quarter, which included back-to-back triples from Leazier and Fricker, and a nice drive-and-dish by Leazier for a baseline jumper by Fricker. After Leazier's tough drive and lay-in, the lead had reached 16 (48-32) and Ramapo was forced to call timeout with 4:12 to go in the period.

Leazier put her stamp all over the frame, sandwiching four free throws around a hard cut that resulted in a lay-up after a perfect pass from Cafaro. 

The Lions were a sizzling 9-for-13 in the quarter (4-for-5 from 3-point range), including a strong driving layup by Brueggemeier in the final minute for her first points of the season. All of that came against a Ramapo team that entered the game 15^th in the nation in field-goal percentage defense.

Seemingly out of it, the Roadrunners rose up in the late stages, starting the fourth quarter on a 21-2 run and scoring 16 straight points over a six-plus minute scoring drought by TCNJ to take a shock lead on two free throws by Ventricelli with 1:32 remaining. After a Lions turnover, Jada Thompson sank two of her own to make it 65-62 Ramapo as TCNJ called timeout with 1:01 left.

In desperate need of points, Fricker obliged with a determined lay-up to get within 65-64 with 32.5 ticks showing. Ventricelli responded with two of her own to make it 67-64 with 27.4 seconds to go.

Fricker drew a double team on a drive and quickly dished out to Branchizio, who got a long 3-pointer from the left wing to rattle home and tie the game at 67-67 with 18.8 seconds remaining.

The Roadrunners ran the clock down, but Ventricell's lay-in spun around and out as TCNJ went to overtime for the second home game in a row.

Hourigan-Hutton made big play after big play in overtime, making a free throw on the first possession before getting a high-arcing scoop to go for a 70-69 lead. Another freebie put TCNJ on top, 71-69, with 3:21 left in OT.

After Ventricelli made four more free throws to retake the lead, Hourigan-Hutton grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled, hitting both to tie it at 73.

Ramapo took the lead again and had a shot to ice it, but TCNJ got a stop and Hourigan-Hutton scored inside on a post move to knot it at 75-75 with 5.2 seconds left to set the stage for the unbelievable finish.

Ventricelli finished with 34 points and was a whopping 21-for-25 at the foul line, and Thompson had a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Roadrunners were 15-for-20 at the line in the fourth quarter alone.

Leazier led TCNJ with 18 points and added five rebounds and five assists, but was the first of three Lions to foul out as Blum and Heller later reached five fouls. She was a perfect 9-for-9 at the line. Fricker piled up a season-high 13 points, Branchizio had 12, and Hourigan-Hutton had eight of her season-best 10 in OT.

Cafaro's nine points were a season high and Blum finished with six.

Heller reached 300 career rebounds with the first of her two caroms.

The Lions wrap up the regular season at Rutgers-Newark on Wednesday night.