The second full week of women’s basketball play was a remarkable one for the Lions. With two games this past week, the College collected two wins, one of which gave them a leg up on their opponents in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
The Lions (3-2) came out strong in the first game of the week against Richard Stockton College — an NJAC matchup — with a nail-biting 58-57 win. The game came down to the final few seconds.
Starting quickly with a 10-2 lead in the first five minutes, the College went back and forth with the Ospreys and hit five of their last six shots in the fleeting minutes of the first half.
Junior guard Kelly Roddy had an incredible game with a career high 13 points, while junior guard Tiffany DeTulio came just short of that with 12 points. Senior center/forward Candace Vigo also had a strong finish with seven points and eight rebounds.
The Lions were trailing in the second half of the game, but the College’s offense wasn’t letting them get too far ahead. They finally grabbed the lead when sophomore forward Jessica Goldbach knocked down a three-point shot and junior guard Colleen Duffy secured the Lions their first lead of the game.
Despite this stellar play, the Ospreys came back and were ahead of the Lions going into the final two minutes of play. With the work of Vigo and Duffy, the Lions took a 58-55 lead with 57 seconds remaining. Despite one more shot from the Ospreys, the Lions pulled off a tight win. Stockton had called for a shot clock violation during the final seconds and got the ball back, but the shot missed.
Even more satisfying was the fact that this was an NJAC win, boosting the Lions to a 1-1 record in the Conference and a 2-2 record for regular season play.
The next game of the week also came as a win for the Lions, this one a little less nail-biting, but nevertheless exciting and satisfying. Taking on Kean University, the College soared past the Cougars with a 68-41 win.
Coming out with a 2-0 lead, the Lions relinquished this for a short period of time, but were in control for the rest of the half and ultimately the game. Their largest lead came with 2:33 on the clock with a score of 34-18 when Vigo shot from the foul line.
At the end of the first half, the College led 37-23 with sophomore guard Kelly Coughlin getting her third three-pointer of the game and leading the team with 11 points, while Roddy came next with eight.
The second half of the game consisted of more Lion domination, never letting the Cougars overtake the lead. With a final score of 68-41, Coughlin had tied her career-high of 15 points while Vigo got a season-high 14 points. Roddy was also an unstoppable force with nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
The team continues to feel good about the beginning of the season.
“With the mix of new and old players, we are still continuing to mesh,” Goldbach said. “We are still in the beginning of the season and are feeling good about our team, but have to continue to work hard everyday.”
The Lions will take on Rutgers-Camden University at home on Wednesday, Dec. 5, and then travel to Ramapo College on Saturday, Dec. 8.
