MAHWAH, N.J. – The TCNJ women's basketball team remained firmly in the driver's seat for the top seed in the NJAC Tournament with a hard-earned 74-68 win at Ramapo on Saturday.
 
Nina Branchizio led the way with 14 points for the Lions, who had eight players score at least six points in a balanced effort that kept them atop the league standings. Though tied with New Jersey City, TCNJ can clinch the No. 1 seed with a win at home Wednesday against Rutgers-Newark.
 
FOR THE RECORD

• TCNJ improved to 16-8 overall and 13-4 in the NJAC, while Ramapo dropped to 15-9 and 11-6 in league play. The Roadrunners are in fifth place with one game to play

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game was back and forth, interspersed with six ties and seven lead changes, and the biggest lead of the entire afternoon came when TCNJ was up, 16-8, on Branchizio's second 3-pointer of the first quarter
• The Lions still maintained a six-point edge (27-21) on Julia Setaro's 3-pointer with 4:2 remaining in the first half, but Ramapo closed the second quarter on a 9-4 run to get within 31-30
• The lead changed hands four times in the third quarter, and the Roadrunners took their biggest upper hand of the day at 47-44 with 2:46 left in the frame, but Setaro answered with a 3-pointer and Izzy Leazier's trey in the final seconds polished off a 10-3 burst to put the visitors up, 54-50, after three
• Two triples in the early stages of the fourth by Branchizio gave TCNJ a pair of five-point leads (57-52 and 60-55) before Ramapo scored six unanswered to take the lead for the last time at 61-60 with 6:19 to play
• Two clutch free throws by Kaitlyn Deiter swung the game back in the Lions' favor for good, and TCNJ scored its last 14 points of the game on free throws

FOR THE FOES

• Jackie Ventricelli led all scorers with 27 points plus five assists and four steals
• Karly Wittenbauer finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and six assists
• Alison Ahern chipped in 10 points

STANDOUT LIONS

• Branchizio scored her 14 points on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc
• Setaro joined her in double figures with 11 points and grabbed five rebounds
• Deiter just missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 10 boards
• Leazier, Katie Fricker, Natalie Kolb, and Arianna McCleod all scored eight points, and Grace Kowalski tallied six

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ shot 37.7 percent for the day but was a sizzling 10-for-15 in the third quarter
• The Lions dominated the boards, 41-26, and racked up 18 second-chance points
• The Lions got to the foul line at will, making 25-of-31 to just 7-of-8 for the Roadrunners

NOTES

• TCNJ denied Ramapo a second consecutive season sweep; before last season, the Lions had taken 30 of the previous 32 meetings

UP NEXT

• TCNJ wraps up the regular season against Rutgers-Newark next Wednesday, which will also serve as Senior Night