EWING, N.J. – If at first you don't succeed, try and try again.
The TCNJ women's basketball team assured itself of a more confident venture into winter break, dominating the boards on the way to a 63-36 victory over Ramapo in its final NJAC contest of the calendar year.
The Lions (3-7, 3-2) missed many of their first attempts but more often than not were there to grab a second, third, or even fourth chance in their best glass-cleaning effort of the season. TCNJ racked up a remarkable 24 offensive rebounds and 24 second-chance points
Brooke McFadden piled up a career-high 16 points and matched her career high with 16 rebounds for the Lions, collecting five offensive rebounds and going 7-of-9 from the floor.
TCNJ came into the game in the nation's top-five, averaging more than 10 3-pointers per game, but misfired on their first seven attempts from beyond the arc as the Roadrunners (4-7, 0-5) held a surprising 10-7 lead late in the first quarter.
The Lions got untracked from there, tying the game on
Amanda Baylock's trey following a McFadden offensive board, and McFadden dribbled her way through defenders for a difficult bucket to give the hosts the lead for good on the next possession.
Baylock grabbed another offensive rebound, one of her four in the first quarter alone, and knocked down a short turnaround in the lane as the Lions took a 14-10 lead after the first stanza.
TCNJ held the Roadrunners without a point over the final 3:08 of the first quarter and the first 3:36 of the second, extending its run to 12-0 after a triple by McFadden set up by a drive-and-kick from Baylock as well as a driving basket from
Myah Hourigan-Hutton.
Ramapo broke its dry spell with a bucket, but only briefly, as TCNJ came right back with a free throw and another triple by Baylock to force the visitors into a timeout trailing 23-12. The lead never dipped into single digits again.
Maddie Bernhardt's first trey of the afternoon gave TCNJ a 15-point advantage at 32-17 before Ramapo scored at the halftime buzzer to make it 32-19 at the intermission.
TCNJ effectively ended the game with a 9-0 run that upped its lead to 49-23 late in the third quarter. Part of that spurt included a five-point possession where
Izzy Augustine scored plus a foul,
Olivia Voshell grabbed the rebound on Augustine's missed free throw, and Baylock drained a 3-pointer to turn a 40-23 lead into a 45-23 surplus in one fell swoop. By the time the third quarter ended, the margin had ballooned to 51-25.
TCNJ led by as many as 28 (61-33) with 3:40 to go before the final spread settled at 27.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- TCNJ shot 32.9 percent from the floor (24-for-73), 25.6 percent from the 3-point line (10-for-39), and 55.6 percent at the line (5-for-6); Ramapo was just 28.1 percent overall (16-for-57), 14.3 percent from behind the arc (2-for-14), and 40.0 percent percent at the stripe (2-for-5)
- TCNJ controlled a 57-36 advantage on the glass
- The Lions outscored Ramapo, 14-0, in fast-break points
- TCNJ only committed eight turnovers, but six of those came in the fourth quarter, and the Lions did not turn it over until well into the third quarter
- TCNJ dished out 15 assists
FOR THE FOES
- Vanessa Kohler led the Roadrunners with eight points and six rebounds
- Lauren Flatt scored seven points and Denay Jones added six
STANDOUT LIONS
- McFadden was a force from the get-go, racking up nine points, six rebounds, three blocks, and a pair of steals in the first half alone; in addition to her 16/16 double-double, she finished with a career-high four blocks as well as two assists
- Baylock was just 5-of-21 from the field but scored 15 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists
- Grace Kowalski finished with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting
- Katie Fricker paired six points with seven rebounds, and Augustine matched her with six points
NOTES
- The Lions have won five straight in the series, the last four of those victories coming by an average of 32.0 points
- McFadden's double-double was her second of the season and third of her career
- McFadden also pulled down 16 boards in a win over Rutgers-Camden almost exactly one year prior
UP NEXT
- The Lions have more than two weeks off before heading to Massachusetts for Smith's holiday tournament; TCNJ's opener comes against St. John Fisher on December 30 before a date with the 4th-ranked hosts on New Year's Eve
