MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The TCNJ women's basketball team enjoyed an ideal Saturday, storming to a 68-55 victory at Montclair State and watching the two teams ahead of them in the NJAC standings go down.
 
Julia Setaro (21 points), Grace Kowalski (18), and Nina Branchizio (17) accounted outscored the Red Hawks themselves, and with losses by both Stockton (to William Paterson) and Kean (to NJCU), the Lions found themselves in a three-way tie for first place.
 
FOR THE RECORD

• The Lions extended their winning streak to four and ran their overall record to 13-7, and their 10-3 NJAC mark matches that of both Kean and Stockton. Ramapo and NJCU are both just a game back of that trio at 9-4

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Montclair State held three slim leads in the opening minutes, but after back-to-back 3-pointers by Branchizio and Kowalski, the Lions were ahead for good at 13-7 following an 8-0 run
• MSU got within 22-19, but TCNJ took control for good with a 14-4 run to close the first half. Setaro converted a three-point play and a jumper before Kowalski ran off seven straight points to make it 34-20, and the Lions pulled into the halftime break with a 36-23 advantage
• The Red Hawks got to within 10 on multiple occasions in the second half. The first came with TCNJ leading 41-31, and Branchizio promptly buried two straight 3-pointers to expand the lead to 16. After MSU scored six in a row to get within 47-37, Branchizio nailed two free throws to close the third, and her latest triple made it 54-39 with 8:02 to go in the fourth
• MSU trimmed the deficit to eight four times in the fourth, the last at 63-55 with 1:53 remaining, but Setaro immediately banged home a triple to put the game away

FOR THE FOES

• Olivia Vero led the Red Hawks with 15, and Teresa Wolak had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds
• Shannon Hughes scored 11 points

STANDOUT LIONS

• Setaro turned in an efficient performance, making 8-of-12 from the field and all three of her free throws. She also grabbed seven rebounds and handed out three assists
• Kowalski finished 8-of-14 from the floor and snagged six boards
• Branchizio made five 3-pointers
• Kaitlyn Deiter pulled down six rebounds to go with four points

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ shot 42.6 percent from the floor (23-of-54), including 7-for-13 in the fourth quarter
• TCNJ made nine 3-pointers to just two for the Red Hawks
• The Lions owned big advantages in rebounds (37-24) and second-chance points (23-10)

NOTES

• TCNJ's four-game winning streak is its longest of the season
• Setaro surpassed 1,200 career points, the 10^th player in program history to do so. She also notched her 100^th career steal
• The Lions have won three straight in the series, and Saturday's win snapped a two-game losing streak in Montclair

UP NEXT

• TCNJ hosts Kean on Wednesday in a first-place showdown