EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ women's basketball team was unable to sustain a hot start, and despite a strong second-half push suffered an 85-59 setback at the hands of No. 20 Christopher Newport on Wednesday.
 
The Lions (0-4) came out on fire after conceding a 3-pointer on the game's first possession, scoring on eight straight trips to explode out to a 20-8 lead behind nine consecutive points from Katie Fricker. The hosts continually turned CNU's full-court pressure against it, getting the ball ahead for easy buckets in transition.
 
The Captains, however, ended the period on a 13-1 run to pull even at 21-all at the end of the quarter, and started the second stanza on a 7-0 burst. TCNJ twice got within two, first at 31-29 on a 3-pointer by Maddie Bernhardt and again at 33-31 on Brooke McFadden's lay-up inside, but CNU capped an 11-2 closing run with a basket just before the horn to take a 44-33 lead into halftime.
 
Despite going down as many as 16 points (52-36) early in the third, TCNJ uncorked an extended 18-6 stretch to pull as close as 58-54 on Fricker's triple with 2:04 left in the period; Amanda Baylock and Bernhardt also connected from long range during the run.
 
That was as good as it got for the Lions, who watched as CNU ended the third on a 7-2 spurt and allowed only three points in the fourth quarter.
 
Fricker led TCNJ with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Baylock added 16 points and Bernhardt chipped in 14 on 4-of-6 from 3-point range.

Grace Kowalski stuffed the stat sheet with six points, four rebounds, and five assists, while Myah Hourigan-Hutton pulled down six boards and Cassidy Brown had three rebounds and four assists in her first career start. 
 
UP NEXT

• The Lions welcome Stevens to Packer Hall on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip