The TCNJ women’s basketball team secured an 81-61 victory over Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday night in Ewing, New Jersey. The Lions used a strong second half, highlighted by eight three-pointers, to pull away from the Scarlet Raptors.
Katie Fricker and Riley Ahrens led TCNJ in scoring with 18 points each. Amanda Baylock contributed 16 points, while Grace Kowalski added 12. On defense, Brooke McFadden led the team with eight rebounds and three blocks. Kowalski also recorded a game-high six assists.
The game began slowly, with Rutgers-Camden holding a narrow lead early on. After several lead changes in the first quarter, Rutgers-Camden was ahead 14-12 at the end of the period. In the second quarter, Baylock played a key role by scoring or assisting on TCNJ’s first nine points. Ahrens came off the bench to score six consecutive points as part of a run that gave TCNJ a 36-26 halftime advantage.
Rutgers-Camden narrowed the gap to eight points early in the third quarter before Fricker responded with her first of four second-half three-pointers. Fricker scored 11 points in the third quarter alone, helping TCNJ maintain control going into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, TCNJ opened with an 11-0 run featuring three-pointers from Fricker, Baylock, and Maddie Bernhardt. This stretch gave them their first 20-point lead of the night at 67-47. Although Rutgers-Camden managed to reduce the deficit slightly, they never got closer than 14 points before TCNJ closed out the win.
According to game statistics, TCNJ shot 40.8 percent from the field and made nearly 92 percent of their free throws. They also held a slight edge in rebounding and converted offensive rebounds into 24 second-chance points.
Ahrens achieved a season-high with her performance off the bench, shooting efficiently from the field. Fricker paired her scoring output with four steals—the most she has had since November—while Baylock hit four three-pointers for her second time in three games.
For Rutgers-Camden, Courtney Edmundo led all players with a double-double of 26 points and 17 rebounds.
TCNJ will play its next game on Saturday, February 7 against Rutgers-Newark at 4 p.m.
