Kean women’s basketball (13-13, 9-9 NJAC) looks to continue its New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) tournament run this evening against the top-seeded behemoth of The College of New Jersey (20-5, 16-2 NJAC) at 7:00 p.m.
Kean, seeded just fifth coming into the tournament, stunned fourth-ranked Rowan University last Saturday, upsetting them 74-68.
Sophomore guard Cara McCoy and graduate student guard Brittany Graff each tabbed 18 points to push the Cougars past the Profs. However, it came down to the final 10 minutes of the game when junior guard Erika Mercedes tied the game at 50-all and gave the Cougars the lead for good with back-to-back free throws. Her performance contributed to her flawless nine-for-nine shooting from the free-throw line, early in the fourth quarter.
Despite losing two starters earlier in the season, the Cougars still bring an arsenal to the court. Leading the team are NJAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year senior Maddison Vaughn and conference honorable mention Graff.
Vaughn claims the conference’s top defensive honor and a First Team selection after averaging 13.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game against NJAC opponents. The Roselle, N.J. native shot 48.6% from the field and became the fourth player in program history to earn Defensive Player of the Year, joining Tiffany Patrick (2009-10) and Shervon James (2002-03, 2003-04). Throughout the season, she was recognized as a three-time Player of the Week. Vaughn shares this year’s award with NJCU’s Destiny Battle.
Graff secured her third All-Conference recognition, adding to her Second Team selections in 2021-22 and 2023-24. The graduate student posted 13.2 points, 3.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game in NJAC competition, shooting 34.2% from the field and 60.9% from the free-throw line. The Elmwood Park, N.J. native continues to be a key contributor for her team.
TCNJ maintains an outstanding 16-2 record in conference, losing close back-to-back contests to Montclair State University 62-61 on Jan. 15 and New Jersey City University (NJCU) 60-46.
The Lions bested the Cougars in both of their regular season matchups, 74-56 on Dec. 7 and 75-62 on Jan. 25.
If either of the teams were to reach the NJAC title game, it would be the first in over a decade for both programs. TCNJ’s last claim at the title coming during the 2009-10 season with Kean’s coming close behind during 2009-10.
