CAMDEN - Sophomore center Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) scored 12 points and sophomore guard Alyssa Michella (Washington Township, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy) added 10 to lead a balanced attack that powered The College of New Jersey over Rutgers University-Camden, 70-49, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference women's basketball game here Wednesday.
Rutgers-Camden falls to 6-9 overall and 1-4 in the NJAC, while TCNJ improves to 8-8 and 3-3.
The Lions broke to a 5-0 lead and never trailed. They led, 15-6, six minutes into the game behind six points and three rebounds from Klimowicz. By halftime, TCNJ held a commanding 37-20 lead, with Klimowicz and Michella scoring eight points apiece, while freshman center Alexandra Gregorek (Mahwah, NJ/Academy of Holy Angels) had six. Junior guard Sara Best (High Bridge, NJ/Voorhees) had five first-half rebounds for the Lions, who held a 26-21 advantage off the boards in the opening half. Best also added five first-half assists.
For Rutgers-Camden, senior forward Karen Carter (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken) had 13 of her team’s 20 halftime points.
The Lions scored the first eight points of the second half to put the game out of reach. They ended up with a 46-43 edge off the glass, led by seven rebounds from Best, who also notched a game-high seven assists. Michella had six rebounds for TCNJ.
The Lions shot 31-for-68 from the floor (45.6 percent), while the Lady Raptors were 18-for-69 (26.1).
Carter paced the Raptors with a game-high 17 points, while junior guard Krystal Jankowski (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) had a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior guard Imani Hafiz (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional) notched 15 points to raise her career total over 500 to 511.
Carter had a game-high four steals for the Raptors, while Hafiz added three.
Both teams play 1 p.m. home NJAC games on Saturday. TCNJ faces William Paterson University, while Rutgers-Camden entertains Rutgers-Newark.