TCNJ RACKS UP FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN AS KLIMOWICZ ADDS 11TH……….

DOUBLE-DOUBLE AS LIONS BEAT ELIZABETHTOWN, 72 -64

Ewing, NJ…The College of New Jersey women’s basketball team hosted the Blue Jays of Elizabethtown College in a non-conference game in Packer Hall on Monday night. TCNJ tallied the 72-64 win to notch their fifth straight win and improve to 11-3 overall, while Elizabethtown drops to 8-5.

TCNJ’s while junior center Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) added her 11th double-double of the season as she racked up 20 points with a team and game-high 14 rebounds. She had 12 second half points with seven rebounds in each half and a pair of blocks.

TCNJ led 34-33 at the break. The Blue Jays scored the first basket of the game, but TCNJ would build a 10-point lead, up 16-6 before Elizabethtown would take the lead 31-29 at 2:45. The Blue Jays hit 50.0% of their shots from three-point range in the first stanza, 5-10 and were a perfect 2-2 from the line. Pacing the visiting Blue Jays was junior Megan Quinn (Millersville, PA/Penn Manor) as she had 11 points and hit 3-of-5 shots from three-point range, while adding three assists in the first half. Quinn would finish with 20 points and was 7-9 from the line with five rebounds, three assists and a steal on the night.

TCNJ got 12 points from rookie forward Kelsey Kutch (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) including 10 in the first half. Junior guard Alyssa Michella (Washington Township, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy) added 15 points, one shy of her personal best, while senior Sara Best (High Bridge, NJ/Voorhees) added 12 points with seven rebounds.

After the two teams exchanged leads and several ties, TCNJ would take a 66-56 lead with three minutes left to play. During that time the Lions would hit six of seven free throws. TCNJ finished the night having hit 13-of-18 shots from the line, while making 11 of 16 in the second half to help the Lions on the night. Elizabethtown had made nine straight free throws in the game, before their first miss at 10:31 in the second half. For the game, the Blue Jays hit 15-of-19 from the charity stripe and made 45.0% of their three-point attempts as well (9-20).

Elizabethtown College’s senior guard Erin Walton (Columbus, NJ/Northern Burlington County) became the third all-time leading scorer for the Blue Jay women’s basketball program as she moved ahead of Abbie Fabian (1,503 points) and now has 1515 points after adding 13 points in the contest.

Sophomore guard Courtney Kofeldt (Coatesville, PA/Holy Spirit (NJ) added 11 points and hit three-of-four from beyond the arch to help her team on the night.

TCNJ returns to action on January 16 when they travel to No. 14 ranked Kean University for a 6 p.m. NJAC contest, while Elizabethtown College faces Immaculata College on January 19 on the road at 1 p.m.