WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Arianna McCleod scored a career-high 22 points to lead four in double figures and help power the TCNJ women's basketball team to a 91-53 rout of Framingham State in the Morin Memorial Tournament at Williams on Saturday night.
 
The Lions will take on host Williams – an 80-55 winner over Keene State – in the championship game on Sunday at 3 p.m.
 
McCleod knocked down five 3-pointers to match Nina Branchizio (17 points) as part of a shooting display that resulted in 15 triples. TCNJ was especially lethal in the third quarter, going 14-of-19 from the field and 4-of-7 from long range to turn a nine-point halftime lead into a runaway.
 
Katie Fricker matched her career high with 21 points, while Grace Kowalski stuffed the box score with 15 points, six assists, six steals, and four rebounds.
 
The Lions led by just two in the opening five minutes before Fricker went on a personal 8-0 run, including a pair of triples, to give the blue and gold a 13-3 lead at the 3:26 mark of the first.
 
The Rams got within 20-15 early in the second before back-to-back 3-pointers by McCleod opened up a 27-15 advantage, and McCleod's third long ball made it 30-16. After another FSU rally, McCleod connected on her fourth triple of the period to send TCNJ into the locker room with a 39-30 lead.
 
The Lions went wild in the third, scoring the first eight points of the period to start putting the game away. Kowalski was 4-for-4 from the field for 11 points in the frame, with Branchizio adding eight points and Fricker seven of her own.
 
The Rams never got closer than 13 after halftime, and TCNJ led by at least 20 for the last 15 minutes of game time.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ held the Rams to 34.7-percent shooting (17-of-49) and just two 3-pointers
• TCNJ was 47.8 percent for the night (33-of-69), and the surplus of 13 3-pointers helped the Lions offset a 44-26 rebounding deficit
• The Lions dished out 23 assists to just five turnovers while converting 27 FSU miscues into 35 points on the other end
• McCleod finished 5-of-9 from 3-point range and grabbed six rebounds
• Fricker was an efficient 7-of-12 from the field
• Branchizio shot 5-for-11 from beyond the arc and dished out four assists
• Kowalski went 6-of-10 on field-goal attempts in her dynamic all-around effort

NOTES

• Branchizio's five 3-pointers gave her 199 for her career, one shy of becoming the third player in TCNJ history to make 200
• Tireya Wyatt scored her first points as a Lion