EWING, N.J. - The TCNJ women's basketball team was led by a pair of freshmen in its win over Ramapo Saturday afternoon, with Brooke McFadden and Cassidy Brown scoring a team-best 12 points apiece in the Lions' 76-43 win over the Roadrunners.
 
All 12 TCNJ players that saw the floor in Saturday's rout scored, paced by the first-year duo's dozen. McFadden narrowly missed out on her second career double-double, corralling a game-high eight rebounds while Grace Kowalski dished out five assists for the third straight contest.
 
Despite what the final score might suggest it was Ramapo (2-18, 1-12 NJAC) jumping out to a 6-2 lead to start Saturday's opening game. The deficit was short-lived, however, with the first of three Brown triples giving the Lions (15-5, 11-2 NJAC) their first and only lead of the afternoon at 10-8 before buckets from McFadden and Branchizio –as well as a 1-2 trip to the line from Brown – made it 16-10 after one.
 
The game was decided in the next two quarters, where a combined 31-4 run turned a two-point advantage with 5:35 to go in the second into a 50-21 lead halfway through the third. Branchizio, Brown and McCleod all struck from deep in the second before back-to-back McFadden layups gave TCNJ a 35-19 lead at the break.
 
The run was far from over, however, with all four of the Lions' freshmen finding the bottom of the net as part of a 15-2 run to open the second half en route to the 29-point lead.
 
TCNJ's advantage grew to as much as 40 following a 13-0 run that featured scores from Branchizio, Fricker, Olivia Magee and Tireya Wyatt before the Roadrunners scored the final seven points of the game, resulting in the comfortable 76-43 win.
 
FOR THE FOES

• Alison Ahern scored a game-high 14 points on 7-11 shooting.
• Emma Cartwright was an impact player off the bench, adding 10 points with two blocks in 16 minutes.

STANDOUT LIONS

• Brown's 12 points and three triples both match career-best marks set earlier this season.
• McFadden's dozen is one point shy of her career-best. The freshman added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in one of the best outings of her young career.
• Branchizio barely missed out on a double-digit performance, scoring nine points to pair with four assists and a game-high four steals.
• Amanda Baylock added eight points on a perfect 3-3 shooting as well as three boards and two assists in 19 minutes off the bench.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ shot 48.3% from the field and 42.9% from deep while Ramapo was held to just 37.2% from the floor and 36.4% from beyond the arc.
• The Lions' 20 assists are their most since TCNJ's November 16 game against Framingham State.
• The Lions turned a season-best 14 steals in 28 points on the other end.
• Paced by McFadden and Brown, TCNJ outscored the Roadrunners 45-10 in bench points.
• The Lions' +9 rebounding margin is tied for the best mark this season.

NOTES

• This afternoon's win clinches TCNJ a spot in the NJAC playoffs.
• Branchizio moved into 16th place on the program's all-time scoring list, reaching 1,055 career points in the win.
• McFadden scored her 100th point on the season and is just four rebounds away from 100 on the year.

UP NEXT

• TCNJ is back on the road Wednesday, Feb. 5 to take on Rutgers-Camden. Opening tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.