Fredericksburg, VA… The College of New Jersey women’s basketball team opened the 2008 NCAA Division III Championships in impressive fashion as the Lions got past Bridgewater (VA) State 65-52 in the first round on Friday.
The Lions (22-6) advance to face fourth-ranked University of Mary Washington (27-2) on Saturday at 5 p.m. Mary Washington will have the home-court-advantage as the Eagles are hosting the first two rounds of the tournament. Mary Washington advanced beating Baruch College, 73-58.
The win was the first in the NCAA Tournament for the Lions since a 60-52 victory over Hunter College in 2004.
TCNJ led from the start scoring the game’s first seven points and led by as many as 12 on several occasions. The Lions did a lot of their damage from behind the 3-point arc as junior Alyssa Michella (Washington Twp., NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy) connected three times from long range as TCNJ carried a 31-23 advantage into the half.
In the second half, the Lions built the lead to 43-27, but the Eagles closed the margin to 48-41 with 8:32 remaining. That was as close as Bridgewater would get as TCNJ responded with a quick 5-0 run to regain control en route to the victory.
Senior Sara Best (High Bridge, NJ/Voorhees) poured in a career high 19 points for the Lions, shooting 8-for-11 from the floor. She also added eight rebounds. Junior center Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) contributed with 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots, while Michella was the third Lion to each double figures with 11. Freshman Kelsey Kutch (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) added to the win with eight points and 10 rebounds.
Bridgewater capped its season at 15-14.
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