Box score
Ewing, NJ... The College of New Jersey women’s basketball team took advantage of their free throws sinking 26-of-31 from the charity stripe to secure a big conference win over Montclair State University 65-61.
The Lions used a balanced attack on offense as
Hannah Tait (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) drained five three-pointers to tally a game-high 19 points. Sophomore
Jessica Imhoff (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) scored 15 points, nine of those coming from the foul line in 10 attempts. Junior
Kelsey Kutch (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsbourough) also had a solid effort adding 15 points from the floor.
Early in the opening half, a pair of Tait buckets from behind the arc got the Lions (11-8, 4-3 NJAC) rolling in the right direction coming off their first defeat in five games to Kean University on Wednesday night. The defense, however, played as well as coach Dawn Henderson could have hoped. The Lions held the Red Hawks (11-7, 5-2 NJAC) to 7-of-25 shooting while forcing 10 turnovers to close out the first half with a 22-16 lead.
Montclair State, who entered the game leading the conference in field goal percentage (.448), responded in the second half as leading scorers
Kisandra Ayanbeku (Brockton, MA, Randolph), Catherine Cristino (Farmingdale, NJ/Colts Neck) began to hit their stride. Ayanbeku finished with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while Cristino matched with 14 points, grabbed eight boards, and blocked three shots.
Tait hit a momentus three-pointer with 4:30 remaining in the game to put TCNJ up 52-44. From there, the Lions dropped in shot after shot from the foul line. Sophomore
Katie Occhipinti (Warren, NJ/The Pingry School) hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch en route to notching career-highs with nine points and eight rebounds.
The Lions continue their conference schedule this Wednesday, January 27 when they play host to Richard Stockton College. The game is set to start at 6 p.m. and will be followed by the men’s game at 8 p.m.
The Red Hawks play its next game at Cabrini College on Tuesday, January 26.