Women’s Basketball Clipped at Kean
Next game:
William Paterson University
02/04/2023 | 1:00 p.m.
February 04 (Saturday) / 1:00 p.m.
William Paterson University
UNION, NJ — The TCNJ women’s basketball team led league-leading Kean all the way in a thrilling matchup with NJAC on Wednesday night, which ultimately fell to a 57-52 decision. .
The Lions (13-8, 8-6) led for almost every second of the first half and rarely trailed by more than one possession all night. After Katie Fricker knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 46 with 5:34 to go, Kean went on a 6-0 run over the next 4:37 and held on to their one-game lead atop the standings. NJAC.
With the loss, TCNJ fell to a three-way tie for fourth place with Ramapo and William Paterson, the latter coming to Packer Hall on Saturday.
For the second time in as many games, Nina Branchizio opened the scoring with a 3-pointer. The Cougars (13-8, 11-3) responded with one of their own, but Julia Setaro capped a quick five-point unanswered streak and the Lions controlled the rest of the first quarter. Setaro, Emily Toy and Kaitlyn Deiter each scored two field goals in the first frame, and Deiter’s running back gave TCNJ an 18-10 advantage.
A transition triple from Branchizio stretched the gap to double digits (23-13) early in the second, but Kean rallied and finished the first half on an 11-0 run capped by a triple of Shannon McCoy to enter the locker room with a 29 -28 lead.
Kean threatened to retire in the third, leading twice by no less than six points, but the Lions refused to let them part and ended the knotted stanza at 41 after another hat-trick from Branchizio with 2:09 to play to complete the score for the period.
The fourth quarter was a tight one, with neither team shoving the scoreboard until over two and a half minutes had passed. Fricker scored the first five points of the quarter for TCNJ, who tied the score once but were never able to get over the bump, and Fricker’s long scoring drought after 3-point draw ended. proved decisive.
Izzy Leazier’s corner 3 cut Kean’s lead to 55-52 with 11.3 seconds left, but Kean star Shannon McCoy knocked down both free throws at the other end to ice it.
McCoy finished with 26 points and added seven rebounds, while Macy Seaman posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds and Kayla Anderson added a dozen.
Branchizio played all 40 minutes for the Lions, scoring a team-high 12 points on four 3-pointers and providing four assists. Setaro and Deiter each had 10 runs and Izzy Leazier drove in seven.
Fricker had a solid game with five points, a team-high six rebounds and four assists, while Toy dished out four assists to go with four points.
TCNJ shot 45.8 percent from the field (22 of 48), but only fired two free throws — both of them missed — and returned it 23 times, leading to 21 Cougar points.
The Lions return to Packer to face the Pioneers at 1 p.m. Saturday.