FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The College of New Jersey's Women's Basketball Team (7-2) got off to a 19-0 start as it defeated Emory & Henry College (2-8) by a 60-49 score Friday morning at the Cruzin Classic. The game took place in the Don Taft Center at Nova Southeastern University.
After getting out to a 19-0 lead at the 12:02 mark of the first half, the Lions pushed their advantage to 25 (30-5) with seven minutes to go before the break. Emory & Henry won the final 23 minutes of the game, outscoring TCNJ by a 44-30 margin, but the deficit was too much to overcome for the Wasps.
Finding itself down by 25, E&H cut the halftime deficit to 34-15 with a 10-4 run. The Wasps continued to trim the margin with the first eight points of the second half to make the score 34-23. Down by 14 with less than five minutes to play, Emory & Henry made it a single-digit contest with an 8-2 run covering 3:48. The Wasps would get no closer as the Lions hit three of their four free throws in the final 66 seconds of the game to survive the furious comeback, 60-49.
TCNJ saw six players score six or more points and was led by Kelly Coughlin, who had 10 points and three rebounds off the bench. Kelly Roddy had nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals while Angelica Esposito hit a trio of three-pointers for nine of her own. Colleen Duffy notched eight points and 11 boards while Tiffany DeTulio had seven points, six rebounds and five steals.
The Lions shot just 35.5 percent (22-for-62) from the field but hit nine treys in the game. TCNJ also held a 49-39 rebounding advantage with at 14-10 margin on the offensive glass.
Emory & Henry was paced by junior guard Kristie Langley (Staley, N.C.), who had 12 points and five rebounds, connecting on both of the Wasps' makes from long range. Sophomore forward Karina Farr (Graham, Wash.) and senior forward JoBeth Wright (Mooresville, N.C.) both collected 11 points and pulled down six and five rebounds, respectively. Sophomore guard Courtney Puckett (Bassett, Va.) tallied five points, four assists and four steals while sophomore center Amanda Stanley (Mooresville, N.C.) had a team-high seven rebounds.
E&H shot just 16.7 percent (5-for-30) in the first half but finished the game at 31.7 percent with a 15p-for-33 (45.5%) performance in the second half. The Wasps won the turnover battle, forcing the Lions into 20 miscues compared to just 16 of their own.
The Emory & Henry women will spend a few days on their cruise to The Bahamas and will return home for the Christmas and New Year's Holidays. The Wasps will host The Apprentice School on Saturday, January 4 at 2:00 p.m., in the John Rutledge King Center.
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