CAMDEN, N.J. – The TCNJ women's basketball team opened the second half of conference play with a resounding 87-53 rout at Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday night.
 
Natalie Kolb netted a season-high 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Lions, who won for the fourth time in five games.
 
FOR THE RECORD

• TCNJ improved to 10-7 overall and 7-3 in the NJAC, while Rutgers-Camden fell to 0-17 (0-10 NJAC)
• The Lions remain in a tie with NJCU for fourth place in the league standings, one game back of co-leaders Kean, Ramapo, and Stockton

HOW IT HAPP­ENED

• The Lions got 3-pointers from Nin Branchizio and Katie Fricker in a 9-0 game-opening run, holding the hosts off the board for nearly four minutes after tip
• Julia Setaro's bucket made it 21-10 after one, and TCNJ scored the first 13 points of the second quarter – including two triples from Branchizio and a pair of baskets for Kolb – to open up a 34-10 lead at the 4:40 mark of the stanza
• Grace Kowalski nailed back-to-back treys to send the visitors into the locker room with a 42-18 advantage
• TCNJ uncorked another big run to start the third, this time a 10-0 burst headlined by Kolb's three-point play and another long ball by Branchizio to go up 52-18
• The lead ballooned as high as 37 (62-25) on a jumper by Kowalski with 3:59 to go in the third
• The Lions ended the game on an 8-0 run that featured four points by Myah Hourigan-Hutton and a lay-in by Ella Van Dine to close out the scoring

FOR THE FOES

• Rahzirah Blocker led all scorers with 24 points, including the 1,000^th of her career, and grabbed 10 rebounds
• A'yanna Morton (9 points), Jania Pitts (8), and Maniya Simon (7) accounted for 24 points to match Blocker

STANDOUT LIONS

• Kolb was a near-perfect 7-of-8 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds before fouling out in the fourth
• Branchizio finished 6-of-8 from the floor and 4-for-6 on 3-balls to match Kolb with 16 points
• Kowalski (14 points) and Fricker (12) each reached double figures off the bench, and Hourigan-Hutton recorded a season-high eight
• Setaro (eight points), Arianna McCleod (seven points), and Kaitlyn Deiter (four points, six rebounds, three assists) all made important contributions

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ shot nearly 50 percent (35-of-71), including a blistering 12-of-18 in the third
• The Lions owned the paint (42-16) and got 43 points from their bench

NOTES

• TCNJ has won 14 in a row over Rutgers-Camden
• Branchizio moved into fourth in program history with 161 3-pointers and counting

UP NEXT

• The Lions head to New Jersey City on Saturday