The women’s basketball team is off to a solid start, kicking off the 2012-2013 season with one win and two losses. The Lions opened their season in the Starter’s Pub Tip-Off Tournament hosted by DeSales University from Nov. 16-17.
In the first round of the tournament, the Lions took on Haverford College and played hard but came out on the bottom in a 49-54 loss. The College was holding the lead until 5:22 was left in the game. From there, the Fords went on an 8-point run and kept the lead until the very end.
The College had itself a strong 8-0 run earlier in the game, which broke a 22-22 tie. Included in this run were senior center/forward Candace Vigo, junior guard Kelly Roddy and freshman guard Angelica Esposito.
Vigo and Roddy proved to be the top scorers for the Lions in this game, each with 10 points. On top of these impressive numbers, Roddy contributed with five steals and Vigo with five rebounds. Junior forward/center Liz West and sophomore guard Kelly Coughlin both added eight points as well.
The Lions hoped to play even harder the next game in the tournament and this hard work paid off, as they came out victorious over Neumann University with a 73-67 win. The game was dominated by sophomore forward Jessica Goldbach, who scored a career high 15 points. She also aided the team with six rebounds and four steals. For her, this game was one for the record books.
Roddy and Coughlin each scored 11 points, and West scored 10. The Lions started off trailing the Knights, but quickly pulled ahead and did not let up. The biggest lead of the game came in the second half in which the College was leading 46-28, but the Knights had a fantastic offense in the second half.
The first conference game for the Lions came against William Paterson University. The Lions fought hard until the end, but unfortunately could not hold off the Pioneers in a 63-51 loss.
The Pioneers raced onto the scene, coming quickly to a 22-10 early lead over the Lions. Strong shooting was had by Goldbach, with a 3-pointer, and from Coughlin and Vigo, pulling to within seven points of the Pioneers. This back and forth continued throughout the game, coming all the way to the very end.
The Lions were within seven points of from tying it up after Roddy hit a 3-pointer, but the Pioneers kept on coming back. Junior guards Colleen Duffy and Tiffany DeTulio both contributed to a 7-point run late in the second half of the game, but the team could not finish the job and come out with a win.
Despite a rough start, the Lions feel confident in this year’s prospects.
“We set goals to win the NJAC championships and also earn a spot in the NCAA tournament,” Roddy explained. “However, our team is very young with six freshmen, three sophomores, four juniors and one senior. We lost four talented seniors last year and it is going to take a lot of hard work to get where we want to be. Being a young team we should have a lot of energy and once things start to click, we will have an awesome season.”
The team is set to return to action and play at home against Richard Stockton College on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m.
