EWING, N.J. – It was all worth the wait.

The TCNJ women's basketball team went toe to toe with William Paterson for the full 40 minutes of regulation and then 10 more in a pair of tense overtimes, and when the dust settled the Lions had emerged from the carnage with a critical 69-65 victory.

Kaitlyn Deiter posted the first double-double of her career with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Izzy Leazier matched her with 17 – including a host of clutch free throws – to spur TCNJ on to a victory that strengthened their NJAC playoff positioning and dealt a blow to one of its main competitors. The Lions (14-8, 9-6) moved into fourth place in the league standings and completed the season sweep of the Pioneers, who fell a game back of TCNJ in the table.

TCNJ stood tall through a potentially devastating blow when William Paterson (13-9, 8-7) tied the game with a last-ditch heave in the closing seconds of overtime. Undaunted, the Lions turned to their defense and a potent Deiter-Leazier combo.

Double-OT was a cagey affair, both sides trading a single free throw before Leazier hit two more to make it 65-63 at the 2:23 mark. The score stayed there for more than two minutes until Leazier was fouled again with 20.5 ticks to go, calmly sinking both for a 67-63 advantage.

A free throw by Branchizio made it 68-65 with 15.0 seconds to go and the Pioneers had one last chance, but Brianna Smith's attempt at another tying triple was well short. Deiter grabbed the rebound and was fouled, making the second of two on the other end to put away a hard-earned triumph.

TCNJ's outlook was bleak early in the fourth quarter. Three quick layups by Allison McBride pushed William Paterson out to a 45-38 lead, the largest of the afternoon, but Setaro's 3 off a quick inbounds pass from Branchizio got the Lions right back into it. After Deiter scored inside, TCNJ had sliced the Pioneers advantage down to 46-45 with 3:54 to play.

After a defensive stop, Leazier drew contact on an aggressive drive and made the second free throw to pull TCNJ even at 46-all. The Pioneers went back in front, but Deiter was there again with a huge play, grabbing her own miss and putting it back plus the foul. The potential go-ahead free throw was off, but bounced around long enough for Blum to snare a huge offensive rebound and steal an extra possession.

Both teams came up empty on their next trips, and Deiter snagged the board after a missed layup to give the Lions the ball and a chance at a last shot. Out of a timeout, Leazier passed to a cutting Deiter for the go-ahead bucket with 7.2 ticks remaining.

Yakira Rosa scored on a tough drive to tie the game at 50 with 2.4 seconds to go, and TCNJ took timeout to advance the ball.

After going 4-for-21 from 3 in regulation, the Lions got hot in overtime. Leazier connected from the corner to draw first blood, and another one by Setaro off an inbounds play made it 58-52 with 2:23 to go.

William Paterson responded with five straight points, but Leazier came up huge again with a patient drive and nifty finish inside to make it 60-57 with 33.6 ticks remaining in OT. The Pioneers cut it back to one with two free throws, but the Lions managed to play keep-away for 15 seconds before Leazier was fouled and hit both clutch freebies with 7.7 seconds left. Smith, however, got a difficult 3-pointer to rattle home, tying the score at 60-apiece and effectively send the game into a second extra session.

Deiter was terrific, finishing 8-of-14 from the field and adding three steals and a pair of blocked shots to her line. Leazier was 12-of-14 from the stripe and produced five boards and five assists, while Setaro ended on 15 points.

Katie Fricker finished with eight points and three rebounds in an efficient performance off the pine.

Victoria Palladino led a balanced WPU effort with 16 points, with Smith (14), Rosa (11), and Justina Cabezas (11) also hitting double figures.

The Lions came up empty on their first several possessions, but that all changed with a concerted effort to get the ball into Deiter in the post. The sophomore forward scored twice on her patented left-handed lay-in before running the floor and scoring on a nice look-ahead feed by Leazier.

The upper hand changed hands constantly in the first half, which featured seven ties and eight lead changes across the first 20 minutes and a largest edge of three for either side. Rookie Fricker gave TCNJ a spark off the bench, scoring on a nice up-and-under and driving to the bucket to draw contact, knocking down one of the ensuing free throws for a 14-11 lead at the 1:49 mark of the first.

The second quarter was a bit of a slog, with the Lions going ahead 17-15 on a blow-by three-point play from Julia Setaro about two minutes into the frame. Isabella Cafaro sealed her defender and scored inside on an over-the-top pass from Setaro to tie it at 21, but William Paterson ended the half on a 4-1 mini-run to take a 25-22 lead into the break.

The NJAC's least turnover-prone team all season, TCNJ struggled with miscues in the first half. The Lions committed 11 turnovers – close to their full-game average – but only conceded four points on the other end to the Pioneers off those turnovers.

Also the league leader in 3-point shooting, the Lions made just one of 10 attempts from downtown in the first half – an early triple from Sydney Blum.

Just like the first half, Deiter dominated the early stages of the second. Again she scored twice inside – one plus a foul – and also dished out to Fricker for a corner 3 as the shot clock expired to get the Lions within 31-29.

Trailing by five late in the third, Setaro drained a 3-pointer off a Branchizio inbounds pass, and the senior's two free throws trimmed the WPU lead to 37-36 with 1:02 to go. Setaro drew contact on another drive on the ensuing trip and again sank both, giving the Lions a brief lead before Rosa's lay-in made it 39-38 Pioneers heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation – 30 for the afternoon.

The Lions hit the road to face Stockton on Wednesday.