WAYNE, N.J. -  The TCNJ women's basketball team saw its unbeaten streak to start the new year fall at the hands of William Paterson Wednesday night, dropping a 61-47 decision to the one-loss Pioneers.
 
Katie Fricker was the lone Lion to reach double figures in TCNJ's lowest-scoring game of the season – the senior finished with a team-best 17 points – while defensively it was Brooke McFadden tallying team-high marks in rebounds (10) and blocks (3).
 
Both sides struggled to generate any offense in the early going before a 6-0 William Paterson (16-1, 10-0 NJAC) run put the hosts up 12-6 with under two minutes to go in the opening frame. An 8-2 response featuring triples from Amanda Baylock and Grace Kowalski leveled the score at 14 less than a minute into the second, but it was the Pioneers getting the better of the Lions down the stretch in a quarter driven by defense – the teams combined to shoot just 8-for-36 from the field – to take a 24-20 lead into halftime.
 
After Fricker opened the third quarter with her first 3-pointer of the night, it was William Paterson once again riding its stifling defense to a decisive 14-0 run over the ensuing six minutes to balloon its lead to 38-23. TCNJ (8-9, 7-3 NJAC) would get the score within 10 on multiple occasions, the last of which came in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, but could never trim the deficit to single digits en route to the 61-47 loss.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Lions shot a season-low 26.9 percent (18-of-67) from the field, 25.8 percent (8-of-31) from behind the arc and 75 percent (3-of-4) from the free throw line.
• The Pioneers shot 36.2 percent (25-of-69) from the floor, 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from deep and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) at the charity stripe.
• TCNJ was outrebounded 52-39 but held a 10-6 edge in second-chance points.
• William Paterson outscored the Lions 38-18 in the paint

STANDOUT LIONS

• Fricker scored 13 points in the second half en route to her team-high 17.
• McFadden narrowly missed out on a double-double, finishing with eight points and 10 rebounds.
• Kowalski posted a game-high seven assists along with two steals on the defensive end.

FOR THE FOES

• Renee Wells scored a game-high 22 points and was joined in double figures by Patty Walsh (14).
• Mattison Chiera finished with seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

NOTES

• Fricker reached double figures in scoring for the fourth straight game, tying the longest such streak of her career.
• McFadden has corralled double digit rebounds in seven games this season, including three of her last four.

UP NEXT

• The Lions continue their two-game road trip with a rematch against Kean Saturday, Jan. 24. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.