The women’s basketball team finished last week by splitting a pair of games. To begin the week, the Lions defeated Rowan University, but fell to fourth-ranked William Paterson to close the week. Last week’s slate of games left the Lions with a 4-3 record for the season.
“I thought that we played pretty well against Rowan,” head coach Dawn Henderson said. “We also played pretty well against Paterson for about 30 minutes. The difference in the two games can almost be pointed directly to our turnovers.”
The Lions used a late 15-1 run late in the second half to give themselves a 69-55 victory. They had extremely balanced scoring, having five different players score in double digits. Senior forward Hannah Tait led all scorers with 15 points.
“I think that we have a lot of different weapons on this team,” said Henderson. “If everyone is doing their job on offense, we should have balanced scoring. Tait, Imhof and DeTulio are three of those explosive weapons that we have and they have been a big part of our success thus far.”
The Lions excelled in all aspects of the game, having one of their best games statistically. The team dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Profs by a margin of 13. Senior guard Jessica Imhof led the Lions with 10 rebounds. The Lions also made seven fewer turnovers and committed four more steals, playing efficient basketball.
Ending the week, the College took on fourth-ranked William Paterson. The Lions played a sound 30 minutes of basketball leading the Pioneers 45-37, but could not hold on late in the game — ultimately losing by a score of 71-53.
Turnovers were a key blemish in the Lions’ execution. The Lions committed 26 turnovers, resulting in a low offensive output. On the defensive end, the Lions could not keep the Pioneers off the boards, getting outrebounded 41-34.
The Lions, however, received great bench production, in which the bench contributed 20 points compared eight points from the Pioneers’. Imhof led the Lions with 12 points, and nailing two 3-pointers, continuing her impressive season.
The Lions are back home this week to begin a four game home-stand, giving them a great opportunity to improve their record.
“Our goal for this week will be to go 3-0,” said Henderson. “We would like to defend our home court, and the three teams we are playing are tough opponents, but hopefully playing at home will push us to that goal.”
