Ewing, NJ: The College of New Jersey women's basketball team secured an essential New Jersey Athletic Conference win defeating Ramapo College 49-37 at Packer Hall.
The victory keeps the Lions (10-8, 3-4 NJAC) in the NJAC playoff hunt. TCNJ has key games against South Division opponents Richard Stockton College and Rowan University coming up over the next two weeks.
The Lions took control of the game early and never trailed as they were led by senior Alex Gregorek (Mahwah, NJ/Academy of Holy Angels) who scored a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds. Junior Hannah Tait (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) added 11 points on five-of-nine shooting, while junior Jessica Imhof (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) spearheaded a strong first half and finished with eight points, six boards, four assists, and four steals.
The Lions held the Roadrunners (11-7, 2-5 NJAC) without a basket until Alexa Ryan (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan) scored at the 15:04 mark. Ramapo went nearly 10 minutes before scoring its next bucket as TCNJ surged to a 23-4 lead to start the game.
Imhof led the Lions in the opening half with eight points and four assists. She also had four rebounds and three steals in the first 20 minutes to spark TCNJ to a 28-14 halftime lead.
The Lions put the game on ice when they bolted out to a 7-0 run to start the second half, stretching their lead to 35-14. Freshman Liz West (Monmouth Beach, NJ/Shore Regional) displayed terrific energy on the floor in the second half. She grabbed six rebounds and dished out a pair of assists in the 18 minutes of play.
Ryan had a career performance scoring 27 of her team's 37 points in the game. She shot 8-of-17 from the floor, three-of-six from behind the arc, and knocked down eight of 10 foul shots. Freshman Brittany Howes (Freehold, NJ/Colts Neck) had a team-high six boards, while sophomore Faith Flannery (Keansburg, NJ/Keansburg) grabbed five rebounds.
The Lions will travel to Richard Stockton College on Monday, January 31 to play the Ospreys in a make-up game at 7 p.m. Ramapo visits John Jay College on Monday, January 31 for a 5 p.m. tip-off.