UNION, N.J. -  The TCNJ women's basketball team bounced back in a big way in its matchup against Kean Saturday afternoon, tying its season-best marks in both assists (22) and made 3-pointers (16) in a 76-37 win over the Cougars.
 
Katie Fricker continued her hot stretch of play, finishing with career highs in both scoring (25) – accounting for nearly one-third of the Lions' points – and triples (6) while Brooke McFadden added a game-high 10 rebounds and four combined steals and blocks on the defensive end in the wire-to-wire win.
 
TCNJ (9-9, 8-3 NJAC) struck first with a 5-0, game-opening run courtesy of Grace Kowalski before Kean (2-13, 2-9 NJAC) got itself on the board on a layup from Cara McCoy at the 7:13 mark. Both offenses stalled over the ensuing seven minutes, with a McFadden triple – the first of two for the sophomore on the afternoon – gave the Lions a 13-6 lead after one.
 
The floodgates opened in a second quarter in which TCNJ shot 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from the field and 5-for-11 from deep while continuing to suffocate Kean on the defensive end. Following a Cougars layup to start the frame, it was the Lions going on a decisive 16-0 run that was bookended by a pair of Baylock triples to jump in front 29-8. Kean chipped away at the lead with a 7-0 response, but it was Cassidy Brown hitting her first and TCNJ's fifth 3-pointer of the quarter to send the Lions into halftime up 32-15.
 
TCNJ's advantage was back to 21 in the opening minutes of the third, a lead that would hold for much of the quarter, before the Lions turned triples from Brown, Maddie Bernhardt and Fricker into a 13-4 run to close the frame and take its largest lead of the game into the fourth (54-25).
 
Fricker struck for her fifth and career-best sixth 3-pointer in Saturday's final frame to balloon the lead to 38 with three minutes to go, with final buckets from Reghan Bice – TCNJ's season-best 16th triple of the afternoon – and Riley Ahrens securing the 76-37 win and series sweep of the Cougars.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Lions shot 38.2 percent (26-of-68) from the field, 36.4 percent (16-of-44) from deep and 88.9 percent (8-of-9) from the free throw line.
• Kean was held to 28.8 percent (15-of-52) from the floor, 8.3 percent (1-of-12) from beyond the arc and 60 percent (6-of-10) at the charity stripe.
• TCNJ dominated both the points off turnover (28-2) and bench points (30-9) battles.
• The Lions also held a narrow 43-40 edge on the glass.

STANDOUT LIONS

• Fricker took just 10 days to set a new career-high in scoring, shooting an efficient 53.8 percent (7-for-13) from the field and 50 percent (6-for-12) from deep.
• Brown hit three triples off the bench to finish second on the team with nine points.
• Baylock stuffed the stat sheet in the win, posting eight points while tying her career highs in both rebounds (7) and assists (6).

FOR THE FOES

• Peyton Smith scored a team-high 13 points to go with six rebounds.

NOTES

• Fricker has now scored in double figures in five straight games, the longest streak of her career.
• McFadden posted double-digit rebounds for the fourth time in five games.
• TNCJ hit 32 triples in its two victories over Kean and have now won seven straight in the series.

UP NEXT

• The Lions are back home Wednesday, Jan. 28 to take on Stockton, with tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m.