MONTCLAIR, N.J. - The TCNJ women's basketball team survived an improbable comeback attempt in its regular season finale against Montclair State Wednesday night, claiming the program's second straight NJAC regular season title with a 72-63 win over the Red Hawks. Nina Branchizio made history in the victory, breaking the program records for 3-pointers made in a career and in a single season.
 
Wednesday's game was tightly contested through the first five minutes before an 8-0 burst from the Lions (20-5, 16-2 NJAC) blew open the scoring. The first of six Branchizio triples on the evening kickstarted the run, with Amanda Baylock adding a 3-pointer of her own before an Arianna McCleod jumper capped the spurt to turn a one-point deficit into a seven-point lead at 16-9. Just over a minute later, history was made – the first of two occasions for Branchizio.
 
Following a made bucket from Montclair State's (21-4, 15-3 NJAC) Sophie Beneventine, the senior got the ball at the left wing, dribbled inside and hit a step-back jumper from the top of the arc – the 269th 3-pointer of her incredible career – to set a new program record and build the advantage to eight, where after the sides traded buckets in the final minute, it remained.
 
TCNJ took control in Wednesday's second quarter, outscoring Montclair State 26-16 in the frame to bring what would prove to be an insurmountable, 47-29 lead into halftime. The Lions' advantage hung around 10 points for much of the quarter following a 3-3 trip to the line from McCleod just two minutes in, but it was Branchizio striking with two triples in the final 26 seconds to balloon the lead to 18 at the break.
 
The senior picked up where she left off to start the second half, hitting her season-best sixth 3-pointer of the night to give the Lions their largest lead at 21 before the Red Hawks began the climb back.
 
A rejuvenated half-court press caused some serious issues for the Lions after the break, who over the span of five minutes saw their 21-point advantage cut down to 10 following a lay-in from Olivia Vero. McCleod and Grace Kowalski hit a pair of layups on consecutive trips down the floor to stop the bleeding, but another 3-0 run made it just an 11 point game at 56-45 with 10 minutes to go.
 
The Red Hawks' pressure continued to wreak havoc in the fourth, with Montclair State getting as close as four on two occasions, but timely buckets from Kowalski, McCleod and Katie Fricker was enough to hold off the dramatic comeback. TCNJ closed out the game at the free throw line over the final 30 seconds en route to the 72-63 win and second consecutive regular season title.
 
FOR THE FOES

• Alyssa Craigwell was unstoppable on the night, scoring a career-best 30 points on 60% shooting.
• Olivia Vero also reached double figures, pairing her 17 points with six rebounds.
• Sophia Beneventine added a game-high eight assists.

STANDOUT LIONS

• Branchizio led the Lions with 20 points and a game-high four steals.
  • The senior's six made threes tie her season high set in TCNJ's season-opener.
• McCleod added 17 points, her most since November 16.
• Kowalski also got into double figures with 10 points, adding five rebounds and three assists.
• Jaclyn Feit scored nine points, corralled four boards and blocked a game-high three shots.
• Maya Hourigan-Hutton added five points and a game-high seven rebounds off the bench.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• TCNJ shot 43.9% from the field and 32% from deep while Montclair State shot 43.1% from the floor and just 11.1% from beyond the arc.
• After getting outrebounded by four in the teams' first meeting back in January, the Lions held a 35-30 advantage on the glass tonight.
• TCNJ also held leads in second-chance points (16-8), points off turnovers (23-17) and bench points (8-5) while the Red Hawks dominated the paint (38-26).

NOTES

• Branchizio's six triples moved her into sole possession of first place in program history in both career 3-pointers (273) and threes made in a single season (85). The senior also moved into 13th on TCNJ's all-time scoring list, now sitting at 1,126 for her career.
• The Lions' 16 wins in conference play this season are the most since the 2000-01 season.

UP NEXT

• The Lions earned a first-round bye in the upcoming NJAC Tournament and will face the winner of the matchup between fourth-seeded Rowan and fifth-seeded Kean. The second round game will be played Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.