ORANGE, CA - The TCNJ women's basketball team opened up its road trip in California with a hard-fought game against Chapman Wednesday afternoon, bouncing back after a slow first quarter to claim a 78-61 win over the Panthers. The victory extends the Lions' winning streak to six, with each of the last five coming by at least 15 points.
 
Grace Kowalski finished with a team-best 21 points and was joined in double figures by Amanda Baylock (12), Katie Fricker (12) and Nina Branchizio. Fricker was the leader on the glass as well, securing her first double-double of the season by corralling a team-high 10 rebounds, while Myah Hourigan-Hutton chipped in a game-high six assists.
 
TCNJ (8-2, 5-0 NJAC) dug itself into a bit of a hole to start Wednesday's west coast matchup, committing seven first-quarter turnovers to put themselves behind early. Kowalski did her best to keep the Lions close, scoring TCNJ's first eight points on two triples and a pair of free throws before Chapman (4-6, 2-0 SCIAC) used a 6-0 run to balloon their lead to 21-8.
 
A Fricker triple and a layup from Arianna McCleod cut the lead to eight with under a minute to go, but the Panthers' fifth bucket in the paint of the frame sent the Lions into the second down 23-13.
 
The break proved vital for TCNJ which flipped the script entirely in the second quarter en route to outscoring Chapman 24-11 to take a three-point lead into halftime, the primary difference being the play of freshmen Baylock and Brooke McFadden.
 
After Baylock and the Panthers' Shanna Brown traded layups to start the quarter, the Lions went on a decisive 12-0 run that was started and capped off by Baylock 3-pointers – the freshman scored eight of her 12 in the quarter – to turn the 10-point deficit into a two-point lead. Defense to offense was the name of the game during the run, with Kowalski and Baylock combining for three steals during the run while McFadden was the beneficiary of one theft and drew an offensive foul on Brown – the second on Chapman's leading scorer – to help turn the tides.
 
The lead would change hands twice in the final five minutes of the first half, but with the score level at 34 it was McCleod going 1-2 at the free throw line before a Fricker lay ended the quarter with TCNJ up 37-34.
 
The Lions' lead grew to as many as seven on a Cassidy Brown triple in what was a back-and-forth third quarter before TCNJ once again put its foot on the gas in a lopsided fourth to walk away with the Lions' sixth straight win.
 
A Brown layup on the Panthers' first possession of Wednesday's final quarter cut TCNJ's lead to just four, but two minutes later it was McFadden coming up big with a rejection on one end and a tough layup on the other to start a 9-2 run to build the Lions' advantage to double digits for the first time.
 
The lead hovered around 10 for the next two minutes before a Kowalski layup pushed the sophomore over the 20-point mark and made it 68-57 with 3:22 to go, with TCNJ shooting free throws the rest of the way to take the 78-61 decision on the road.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Kowalski's 21 points marked the third time in four games she has scored at least 20 points. The sophomore now leads the Lions in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game while shooting 52% from the field and 59% from deep.
• Fricker grabbed double digit rebounds for the second time this season and fourth time in her career, with this also serving as her second double-double.
• Hourigan-Hutton's six assists are a career-high. The junior had dished out five helpers on three occasions this season, with the new high-water mark growing her season average to a team-best 3.4 per game.
• Despite being undersized in the matchup, TCNJ was just narrowly outrebounded 36-34 and tied Chapman in points in the paint (32-32).
• Just four days after scoring a career-high eight points against Ramapo, Baylock poured in a new career-best mark with 12 in Wednesday's win.
• The Lions shot a season-best 49% (27-55) from the field in the win while holding the Panthers to just 39% (25-64).

UP NEXT

• TCNJ wraps up 2024 with a matchup against Cal Lutheran Friday, Dec. 20. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.