For the Cougars, freshman forward Chari’ Cooper (Paulsboro, N.J.) recorded her second 20-point, 20-rebound game of the season, as she scored 21 points and grabbed 22 rebounds. The nation’s leading rebounder, Cooper notched her 12th double-double of the year and seventh game with at least 20 boards.
The Lions led by as many as 11 points on two occasions in the opening period, before the Cougars closed the half on an 8-0 run to only trail by three points, 31-28, at halftime. Junior forward Erin Frank (Toms River, N.J.) paced the Lions with eight points and four rebounds, while Cooper had eight points and 15 rebounds at the half for Kean.
After a Cooper three-point play cut the Cougar deficit to one point, 32-31, early in the second half, the Lions pushed the lead back to seven points on following a three-point play by sophomore forward Breanne Depken (Oradell, N.J.).
The Cougars pulled back within two points at 43-41 with 13:15 left in the contest, however DiMedio knocked down one of her four treys to start a 17-3 run to pull away, and the Lions led by as many as 21 points, 70-49, before the Cougars closed the game on 15-3 run.
In the victory, Depken finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three steals off the bench, while junior guard Alexa Shields (Oakhurst, N.J.) added 13 points and four assists and Frank finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds
For the Cougars, senior guard Missy Magyar (Iselin, N.J.) had 11 points and five assists, while freshman guard Nina Oshiokpekhai (Hillside, N.J.) and sophomore forward Chi Clark (Maplewood, N.J.) each had nine points.
Kean returns to action on Wednesday, February 2, when the Cougars host Rowan University in NJAC action at 6 p.m.