WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Case Western Reserve University women's basketball team returned to the court with a 57-51 loss to The College of New Jersey on the opening night of the 2014 Hoops for Hounds Classic at Lycoming College's Lamade Gymnasium.

The Spartans drop to 5-3 in their first game since December 6, while the Lions improve to 5-5.

Freshman forward Kara Hageman (Pennington, N.J./Hopewell Valley Central) led CWRU with 12 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Junior forward Laura Mummey (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) tallied 10 points and five boards.

Kelly Coughlin paced the Lions with 15 points, while Christina Merlin posted nine.

Free throw shooting proved to be the difference as TCNJ hit 21-of-29 (.724) compared to just 5-of-12 (.417) for the Spartans.

The Lions led by seven three times in the first half, but an 11-0 run put the Spartans ahead 24-20 as Mummey converted a layup at the 2:02 mark. After three straight from TCNJ, the Spartans scored four more to bump their advantage to 28-23 at the half. Overall, the Spartans outscored the Lions, 15-3, in the final 7:46 of the opening period.

In the second, TCNJ opened on a 15-4 spurt and led 38-32 following two Katy Amato free throws with 14:29 left to play. The Spartans kept it close and eventually regained the lead at 45-44 with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Jessica McCoy (Cranford, N.J./Cranford) at 6:23, but the Lions moved back in front for good at 4:46 thanks to a Nikki Schott jumper that made the score 48-46.

The Spartans conclude their trip to Williamsport tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m. against Delware Valley College. The team is then home for a 1:00 p.m. matchup on New Year's Eve versus local-rival John Carroll University.