EWING, N.J. -  The TCNJ women's basketball team played like a program possessed in its NJAC matchup against Rutgers-Newark Saturday afternoon, outrebounding the Scarlet Raiders 52-32 – including a monstrous 30-5 edge on the offensive glass – en route to an 82-62 victory on their home floor.
 
Maddie Bernhardt led the way offensively with 17 points, but it was Brooke McFadden stealing the show by posting a heroic, 11-point, 20-rebound double-double, the first Lion to achieve the feat since 2019. Katie Fricker added a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double herself, combining with McFadden to outrebound the entire Rutgers-Newark roster (32-28) in a dominant effort for TCNJ's frontcourt duo.
 
In a matchup between the NJAC's top and bottom 3-point shooting teams, it was McFadden and Amanda Baylock opening the contest with a pair of triples as part of a 7-0, game-opening run. The Scarlet Raiders (2-12, 0-7 NJAC) responded with a 7-2 burst of their own to cut the deficit to two before five straight points courtesy of Bernhardt reestablished the Lions' (6-8, 5-2 NJAC) advantage to 16-11.
 
TCNJ would go on to take a 20-16 lead into the opening break, but the story of the frame was McFadden, who secured nine rebounds – five offensive – in her eight minutes of action to help the Lions stake the early lead.
 
The hosts saw their lead cut to two at 26-24 following a 6-0 run from Rutgers-Newark, but a Riley Ahrens triple ignited an extended 12-1 response that gave TCNJ its largest lead of the night at 38-25 with three minutes to go. McFadden would capitalize on her own offensive rebound for the Lions' final score of the half, with a 1-for-2 trip at the charity stripe from the visitors giving TCNJ a 43-34 advantage.
 
The Lions – who had shot just 5-for-25 from deep in the opening half – flipped to script in the second to the tune of a 40 percent conversion rate (6-for-15). Izzy Augustine and Fricker struck first with a pair of 3-pointers in the opening minutes before triples from Augustine and Cassidy Brown (twice) were sandwiched in the middle of a 12-3 run that put TCNJ up 61-41. The Lions got their sixth and final three of the quarter from Bernhardt to maintain a 20-point lead that would be trimmed to 66-48 with just the fourth quarter left following a pair of Scarlet Raider freebies.
 
With the game already out of reach following back-to-back Bernhardt threes to start the fourth, all eyes turned to McFadden. The sophomore sat one point shy of a double-double for much of the quarter, but used a perfect trip to the charity stripe to push her point total to 11 to go along with her 20 rebounds. Ahrens found herself with a putback for the Lions' final points, with another Scarlet Raiders free throw as time wound down clinching TCNJ the 82-62 win.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Lions shot 33.7 percent (28-of-83) from the floor, 24.5 percent (13-of-53) from deep and 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the free throw line.
• Rutgers-Newark shot 47.8 percent (22-of-46) from the field, 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from 3-point land and 53.8 percent (14-of-26) at the charity stripe
• TCNJ finished with a commanding, 53-33 edge on the glass, with its 30 offensive rebounds turning into 28 second-chance points.
• The Lions turned 20 Scarlet Raiders turnovers into 31 points on the other end.

STANDOUT LIONS

• Bernhardt sank a game-high four triples en route to her 17 points.
• McFadden's double-double is her third of the season and the fourth of her career.
• Frickers' double-double is her first of the season.
• Augustine joined the trio in double figures with 10 points, followed closely by Ahrens (9) and Brown (9).

FOR THE FOES

• Sanaa Brodie finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

NOTES

• TCNJ's 30 offensive rebounds are the most in a single game since the 2017-18 season.
• The Lions have now won 12 straight against Rutgers-Newark.

UP NEXT

• TCNJ is on the road Wednesday, Jan. 14 to take on Montclair State in a rematch of last year's NJAC Championship. Tip is scheduled for 5 p.m