Box Score
Holland, MI…The College of New Jersey women’s basketball team’s capped its memorable season on a winning note holding off Amherst College 82-74 in the 2009 NCAA Consolation Game on Saturday at DeVos Field House on the campus of Hope College in Holland, MI.
The Lions capped the most successful season in program history with a school-record 28 victories and 33 games played. The third-place finish also marked the highest finished the team has garnered in 12 NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. With this year’s impressive tournament run, the Lions improved to 15-12 in tournament play. Overall, the team went 28-5 this season.
Amherst, which was also making it first appearance in the NCAA Final Four, concluded its season at 29-4.
“I could not be more proud of our team and their effort today,” TCNJ Head Coach Dawn Henderson said.
The win for the Lions was spearheaded by a trio of seniors that have played valuable roles for the team all season. Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood), Lisa Koch (Oak Ridge, NJ/Washington Twp.), and Alyssa Michella (Washington Twp., NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy) all scored in double figure with most of their points coming at key moments of the game.
Klimowicz led all scorers with 25 points and added 12 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season. She also tied a career-high with six assists. Michella added 17points with four 3-pointers, while Koch netted 13 points with six of them coming from the charity stripe.
“They did the job today,” Henderson said of her seniors.
Klimowicz finished her standout career for the Lions ranking second on both the all-time scoring and rebounding lists with 1,413 points and 832 rebounds. In the NCAA Tournament alone, Klimowicz scored 136 points. She would earn a spot on the 2009 NCAA Division III All-Tournament Team for her play.
Amherst All-American Jaci Daigneault (Guilford, CT/Guilford) got the Lord Jeffs off to a fast start scoring the game’s first seven points of the game.
The Lions bounced right back with a modest 13-5 run as Koch knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the score at 12-12 before Alexandra Gregorek (Mahwah, NJ/Academy of Holy Angels) sank one from the foul line to give TCNJ its first lead of the game. Sophomore Kelsey Kutch (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) also played a key role in that run with six points.
TCNJ finished the half strong going on a 10-2 run with Klimowicz and Gregorek each contributing four points to spark the Lions to a 27-21 lead at the break.
In the second half, increased its lead to 32-23 as Klimowicz struck for two buckets in the paint and Michella drained a 3-pointer.
The Jeffs responded with an 11-2 run that quickly tied the game at 34 apiece.
TCNJ maintained that lead until the latter stages of the game until the Jeffs took their first lead of the second half at 62-60 on a three-point play by Daigneault.
As was the case throughout the game, the Lions fought back and sealed the game from the foul line dropping in four straight in the last 36.3 seconds.
Gregorek rounded out a balanced TCNJ offense as she netted 14 points.