NEWARK, N.J. – The TCNJ women's basketball team rolled to an 89-49 victory at Rutgers-Newark in a Thursday matinee at the Golden Dome.
 
The Lions scored the first 11 points and cruised into a five-way tie for first place in the NJAC standings with their third straight win. Julia Setaro tallied a game-high 21 points and Arianna McCleod scored a career-high 17 for the visitors.
 
FOR THE RECORD

• TCNJ moves to 9-6 overall and 6-2 in the NJAC, while Rutgers-Newark falls to 2-13 (1-7 NJAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Lions wasted no time building a big lead, scoring nine quick points in the first two minutes Kaitlyn Deiter sandwiched a pair of left-handed lay-ups around a three-point play and steal-and-layup by Setaro. The lead ballooned to 11 before the Scarlet Raiders finally got on the board at the 6:44 mark of the frame
• TCNJ continued to expand its lead, going ahead 20-4 after a 3-pointer by Nina Branchizio and a bucket inside by McCleod. The visitors led 26-10 after Branchizio's trey in the closing seconds of the period
• Back-to-back 3-pointers from Grace Kowalski and Setaro had the blue and gold tripling up the hosts, 42-14, at the 2:11 mark of the first half, which ended with a 43-17 score line
• McCleod got the Lions on the board with a steal and layup in the third, then buried two 3-pointers to make it 56-27 with 3:56 remaining. She reached her new career high on a bucket at the 2:22 mark of the third
• TCNJ got the lead over 30 (65-34) for the first time early in the fourth, when Setaro drilled a 3 before finding Leazier ahead of the pack for an uncontested lay-in. The fifth-year drained another triple from the corner on the next possession
• The Lions eventually led by as many as 43 (83-40) on Leazier's three-point play with just under four minutes remaining

FOR THE FOES

• Samiyah Horton led the Scarlet Raiders with 18 points and seven rebounds
• Ebony Odom Barnes chipped in with 11 points

STANDOUT LIONS

• Setaro scored 20-plus for the second time in three games, going 7-of-12 from the floor
• McCleod was 7-of-16 overall and also secured a career high in rebounds (8)
• Kowalski notched her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, also handing out five assists
• Deiter (seven points, nine rebounds) had her best game of the season and it started early, with all of her points and four rebounds in the first quarter alone
• Leazier paired 10 points with six rebounds, while Natalie Kolb collected nine points and five boards
• Katie Fricker grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go with six points

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ dominated the boards, racking up 15 offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points in the first half alone and finishing with 23 and 20, respectively. The Lions more than doubled Newark on the glass (64-31)
• The Lions converted 13 Newark turnovers into 20 points and got to the line constantly, making 15 of 24 free throws
• TCNJ racked up 23 assists to just 12 turnovers

NOTES

• TCNJ has won eight straight in the series and eight in a row at the Golden Dome
• Each of the Lions' last five victories over RU-Newark have been by at least 20 points
• Setaro passed Adrienne Warner '96 for 12th on the program's all-time scoring list (1,124)

UP NEXT

• The Lions wrap up the first half of NJAC play at home against Ramapo on Saturday