EWING, N.J. – The Swarthmore College women's basketball team ended its 26-day hiatus on Thursday night, dropping a non-conference contest at The College of New Jersey, 48-38, to begin the New Year.
 
The Lions used an 11-0 run to take control early in the first quarter and remained in front for the rest of the evening. The Garnet struggled to find a rhythm in their return to the floor, shooting just 29 percent, including 2-of-10 from beyond the arc. Swarthmore was within three late in the third, but TCNJ outscored the Garnet, 13-6, the rest of the way.
 
Alyssa Hayashi led all scorers with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Rebekah Gendler tallied eight points and eight rebounds while Anna Hansson contributed seven points and nine boards.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Hayashi opened the game with a jumper to give Swarthmore a brief lead before the Lions got going with 11 straight points. TCNJ drained three shots from downtown during the stretch and led 11-2 with 5:34 on the clock.
 
- The Garnet ended their scoring drought with six consecutive points to close the gap to three (11-8) with 2:29 to go in the first. Hansson made back-to-back layups and Carolina Lopez added two points. The Lions had the final bucket of the period and held a 13-8 advantage entering the second.
 
- Swarthmore trailed by four (16-12) after a pair of Carly Murphy free throws with 7:42 left before halftime. TCNJ pulled away with a 15-6 surge, hitting three more shots from beyond the arc, and had its largest lead of the game (31-18) with 2:05 left. Hayashi produced the final four points of the frame to bring the Garnet within nine (31-22) at the break.
 
- The Lions started the third quarter with a layup before Swarthmore cut the deficit to three (33-30) with eight unanswered points. Hansson sank a turnaround jumper before Katelyn Becker and Gendler drilled back-to-back threes. The Garnet were still down three (35-32) with 2:03 remaining before TCNJ closed the stanza with a 4-1 stretch to take a six-point cushion (39-33) into the final frame.
 
- The Lions recorded seven of the first nine points in the fourth to pull away from Swarthmore. TCNJ outscored the Garnet, 9-5, in the last quarter and held the visitors to just 1-of-9 shooting.
 
GARNET LEADERS
Points: Hayashi 14
Rebounds: Hansson 9
Assists: Five players 1
Steals: Hayashi, Hansson 2
Blocks: Gendler 2
Threes: Becker, Gendler 1
 
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (3-7) returns home to take on the University of Mary Washington on Saturday.