Amanda Baylock arrived at The College of New Jersey a year ago with a mountain of talent, and this season some confidence has made a world of difference. Baylock, a sophomore, was quite a baseball player, too, as she played centerfield with a team full of boys that played in Cooperstown, she was a 1 ,000 point scorer at Scotch Plains–Fanwood in her junior year, she is the school’s second all-time leading scorer behind TCNJ great Hillary Klimowicz Milner and she’s a player who thrives on pressure. “The biggest difference in myself from freshman year to this season is my confidence,’’ said Baylock. “I think this year I am a lot less hesitant and more confident in my abilities. I believe I’m more confident in trusting my abilities and being more aggressive. When I am very aggressive I think I play my best basketball and I think that’s what I’ve been doing this season.’’ Baylock leads the Lions (8-9,  7-3 NJAC) in scoring with a 14.5 average, which is good for sixth in the conference. She is also sixth in the NJAC in assist per game with 2.8. TCNJ got off to a tough start, dropping the first six games and then two of the first three conference games. “The start of the season was very challenging personally,’’ Baylock admitted. “My teammates and I were very confident and optimistic going into the season and we would’ve never thought we would have started out that way. It was very mentally challenging coming from my freshman year season which was very successful into this season with the start we had. It was very challenging in the fact that it seemed like we couldn’t do anything right and we were waiting until we could finally get over the hump. It was very frustrating but I think myself and our team learned a lot from it and helped us build for the rest of our season.’’ Baylock did her part to get the Lions over the hump. Against Rowan, she scored the final eight points in the game, including staring down a game-winning basket as time ran out that ignited a four-game winning streak. “As soon as Coach (Chessie) Jackson drew the play up for me I knew I was either going to hit the mid-range shot right off the curl or pump fake right into the shot,’’ recalled Baylock. “I just had to read my defender. Our team fought all the way back in the last couple minutes and I was confident we had it in us to win. Once my defender was in the air and I had an open one dribble pull up it was all back to the basics. I’ve practiced that shot a million times and I was confident it was going to go in.’’ It did and the Lions started getting things pointed in the right direction. “As soon as it went in I was so excited,’’ said Baylock. “I knew this game was very important for us and I was very happy we won. Celebrating the win with my teammates was so fun and exciting. I think that shot was the biggest shot I’ve ever hit.’’ Baylock finished the game with 27 points and had her career high of 33 earlier this season against Kean. “I think the Rowan game gave us some momentum for sure,’’ stated Baylock. “I think after this game it gave us a lot of confidence and ready to go on a run and show the conference who we really are. I think stringing good games together is exactly what our team needed and we have done that.’’ Since the 0-6 start, the Lions are 8-3 and are tied for second in the NJAC with Montclair State and Stockton with a 7-3 mark. They ran in a buzzsaw in William Paterson (16-1, 10-0 NJAC) on Wednesday and will now look to get back to winning against Kean (2-12. 2-8 NJAC) on Saturday in Packer Hall at 1 p.m. One of the key things down the stretch for the Lions will be leadership and Baylock is ready to do her part. “I would like to think of myself as a by example leader and a vocal leader,’’ said Baylock. “I try and do my best to do both and have a big impact for my teammates and this team. I definitely feel I have a leadership role on this team and that’s somewhere I can continue to improve every day. I want my teammates to be able to look up to me and also trust me.’’ ...read more read less