The TCNJ women’s basketball team lost a close game to Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday night, falling 54-53 after being held scoreless in the final three minutes and twenty-four seconds. The Lions had led by six points late in the contest before Rutgers-Camden closed with an 8-0 run.
Katie Fricker was the top performer for TCNJ, leading the team with 16 points, eight rebounds, and two steals. Amanda Baylock contributed 12 points and led with four assists. Grace Kowalski and Maddie Bernhardt helped start the scoring early for TCNJ, but Rutgers-Camden responded to take a lead in the first quarter.
By halftime, Rutgers-Camden was ahead 30-26. In the third quarter, TCNJ limited their opponents to just ten percent shooting from the field and outscored them 14-7 to move ahead 40-37 entering the fourth quarter. Early in that period, Fricker and Cassidy Brown combined for three consecutive three-pointers as TCNJ built its largest lead of the night at 52-44.
However, after a free throw from Fricker at the 3:24 mark—the team’s last point—TCNJ’s offense stalled while Rutgers-Camden finished strong to secure victory.
According to game statistics, “TCNJ shot 33.9 percent (19-56) from the field, 29 percent (9-31) from deep and 40 percent (6-15) from the charity stripe – the latter of which is the Lions’ worst mark on the year.” Rutgers-Camden made “30.2 percent (19-63) from the floor, 26.3 percent (5-19) from beyond the arc and 78.6 percent (11-15) from the free throw line.” The Lions’ bench outscored their counterparts by a margin of 19-6.
Fricker’s performance left her one point shy of her season high and saw her surpassing 700 career points. Olivia Magee matched her career-best with four points.
For Rutgers-Camden, Hope Goodwine scored a game-high of 21 points while Courtney Edmundo recorded a double-double with fifteen points and ten rebounds.
TCNJ will play its next game at home against Ramapo on Saturday, December 13 at 1 p.m.
