UNION, N.J. (1/20/10) - Behind a balance scoring effort, the Kean University women's basketball team cruised to its 18th straight victory, defeating The College of New Jersey, 73-49, in New Jersey Athletic Conference action on Wednesday evening. Sophomore forward Danielle McFadden (Odenton, Md.) hit 7-of-9 shots from the floor en-route to a career and game-high 16 points, as the #3/4 Cougars (18-1, 7-0 NJAC) remained undefeated in NJAC play. The Lions (10-8, 3-3 NJAC) were led by sophomore guard Jessica Imhof (Flemington, N.J.), who finished with 12 points off the bench.

After TCNJ scored the first basket of the game, the Cougars rattled off 18 unanswered points, as rookie Naimah Clemons (Newark, N.J.) had seven points and junior forward Tiffany Patrick (Piscataway, N.J.) chipped in with six points to give the Cougars an 18-2 lead less than five minutes into the game.

The Cougars would extend the lead to 30-5 midway through the half following back-to-back three-pointers by senior guard Melissa Beyruti (Union City, N.J.) and rookie guard Nicol Biesek (South Pasadena, Calif.) and a free throw by rookie Tatiana Javis (Hillside, N.J.), before another Kean run of 15 straight points would extend the lead to as many as 38 points in the first half, as the Cougars led 45-7 with just over five minutes remaining before taking a 51-18 lead into halftime.

McFadden and Clemons each hit 5-of-6 shots from the floor in the opening half, scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Kean. Junior guard Stephanie Prall (Kinnelon, N.J.) scored five points in the opening half for the Lions. As a team, Kean shot 54.3 percent from the floor (19-of-35), while holding the Lions to just 23.3 percent shooting (7-of-30) and forcing them into 16 first-half turnovers.

The second-half saw Kean push the lead out to 43 points with 8:08 remaining after five straight points by junior Brittany Powell (Tinton Falls, N.J.), as all 17 Kean players dressed for the game logged at least six minutes played in the game.

McFadden also finished with seven rebounds and three steals, while Patrick nearly finished with a double-double of 10 points and nine rebounds, while also adding a game-high four steals. Powell (pictured left) hit for 10 points in nine minutes of action off the bench and Beyruti, the NCAA Division III all-time leader in three-point field goals made, added three more to her total, as she hit 3-of-5 in just 19 minutes.

Imhof grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for the Lions and Prall scored seven points in the game.