By Joseph Caruso
Staff Writer
The College’s women's basketball team continued their stellar New Jersey Athletic Conference play with two double-digit wins against Stockton and Ramapo on Jan. 29 and Feb. 1, respectively.
On Jan. 29, the Lions traveled to Galloway, N.J. to take on the Ospreys of Stockton University, trying to add to an already great 9-2 conference record. Stockton had lost four of their last five contests heading into the matchup, but showed resilience against a tough Lions team, as it was just a two-point game heading into the halftime locker room.
Senior Nina Branchizio led the team with nine first-half points, sinking three three-pointers, giving the College a 29-27 lead at the end of two quarters.
Slowly distancing themselves from the Ospreys, the Lions would win the third and fourth quarters by five points each, en route to a double-digit win by a score of 70-58 to hold off a pesky Stockton team on the road.
It was a great day for junior Katie Fricker, who led the College with 17 points, followed by Branchizio, who chipped in 14 points of her own. A total team effort for the Lions saw four players reach double-digit points, along with fifth-year Jaclyn Feit chipping in nine.
Branchizio also had a season-high of five assists, and now is just one of four players in program history who is 17th or better in points and assists.
On Feb. 1, the College hosted a struggling Ramapo team, who were an abysmal 2-17 going into the matchup and sitting at the bottom of the NJAC with a 1-11 conference record.
The Lions went up 16 points after the first half, led by freshman Brooke McFadden, who had eight of her 12 points in the first half, missing just one shot the entire game.
A third-quarter explosion saw the College score 23 points, hit three three-pointers and extend their lead to 29 before the final 10 minutes. Another winning quarter in the fourth closed a 33-point Lions victory by a score of 76-43, extending their winning streak to four games.
Another full team effort for the Lions saw McFadden and freshman Cassidy Brown each with 12 points to lead the way. The College’s bench scored more than the Roadrunners’ entire team, with 45 points. Their 14 steals were also a season-high for the team, and turned into 28 points off turnovers.
With this win, the College clinches a spot in the NJAC playoffs, as they are tied with Montclair State, each having an 11-2 conference record thus far. They will look to outdo their 14-4 conference record from last season, and still have five more conference games left to do so, including what will be a highly-anticipated rematch against the aforementioned Montclair who bested them by just one point earlier in the season.
The Lions will head back to the road to take on Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday, Feb. 5 to try and continue their winning ways and gun for the top spot in the NJAC.
