EWING, N.J. – The No. 3 TCNJ women's lacrosse team dominated the late stages of the third quarter and the early portions of the fourth, emerging from a hard-fought season opener with a 12-8 victory over visiting Scranton on Wednesday afternoon.

Ally Tobler scored four goals and Anna Wright added two goals and two assists, both eclipsing 100 career points to lead the Lions past a scrappy Royals squad that played even with the high-powered hosts for almost a full three quarters. Jillian Westerby matched her milestone-making teammates with four points on three goals and an assist for TCNJ, which rattled off five unanswered markers after the black-and-purple clad visitors had made it a 6-6 game midway through the third.

The Lions dealt with some first-game rust but gradually shook it off with the help of team speed and a tenacious defensive ride. The Royals had seven failed clears in the first half alone, one of which led directly to a goal as Westerby intercepted a pass and quickly fed ahead to Tobler for a quick-strike shot as the junior star finished off a first-half hat-trick and gave TCNJ a 3-2 lead early in the second quarter.

The hosts got the better of the frame thanks to more Scranton miscues, one of them an alternate possession off a draw infraction that led directly to a transition goal by Anna Devlin that came just 12 seconds after Tobler's third. Wright's bouncer found the back of the net to cap a three-goal run and extend the advantage to 5-2.

The Royals (1-2) got within 5-4 before a pre-draw green card facilitated a quick TCNJ attack and a free-position goal by Westerby, who shoveled a lefty shot past the goalie to give the Lions a two-goal edge going into the break.

Scranton pulled even at 6-6 and forced a Lions timeout at the 8:38 mark of the third, but a series of turnovers prevented the Royals from taking the lead. The hosts took full advantage, scoring twice in an 83-second span towards the end of the frame. Westerby's free-position bouncer on a man-down situation gave TCNJ the lead for good and, following a nice reflex save by Julia Charest with the Royals on a two-man advantage, Tobler roofed a turnaround shot off a feed from Wright to make it 8-6 with 1:01 to go.

In the growing dark of twilight, Wright scored on a bouncing eight-meter shot to make it 9-6, and the Lions continued to pile on as Westerby finished a pass from Natalie Berry and Katherine Naiburg ripped a left-handed rocket off the post and in on a free-position effort.

Scranton stopped the bleeding just under the 5-minute mark, but Morgan Vaccaro restored a five-goal lead with an unassisted tally at the 2:06 mark. The Royals capped the scoring inside the final minute.

TCNJ wound up with a hefty advantage in shots (29-15) and committed 14 turnovers to 23 for Scranton, which was just 11-for-22 on clears; the Lions were a perfect 12-for-12 on clear attempts. TCNJ converted on half of its 10 free-position tries.

Devlin paced TCNJ with five draw controls and Tobler tacked on three of her own as the hosts held a 13-11 edge in the circle. Tobler (5) and Westerby (4) combined for half of the Lions' 18 ground balls.  

Wright (3), Tobler (2), Wayden Ay (2), and birthday girl Madison Wernik (2) all caused multiple turnovers, and Charest finished with three saves.

The Lions hit the road to face Lebanon Valley on Saturday.