Wednesday, December 1, 2010 (Women's Basketball)

NJCU OPENS LEAGUE PLAY WITH LOSS TO RUTGERS-NEWARK, 72-50

JERSEY CITY, NJ (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University opened New Jersey Athletic Conference play with a 72-50 loss to the Rutgers-Newark in a game played on Wednesday night at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on "Coach Charlie Brown Court."

Rutgers-Newark remains unbeaten, improving to 6-0 (1-0 NJAC), by taking advantage of 36 Gothic Knight (1-4, 0-1 NJAC) giveaways, as the Scarlet Raiders owned a 38-15 margin in points off turnovers. Newark leads the all-time series, 37-21.

The Gothic Knights started on a torrid pace and scored the first seven points of the contest before Newark turned the deficit around and led 41-28 at the half. The Raiders led by as many as 28 points in the second half of the contest.

In defeat, NJCU senior guard CAROLINA GARCIA (Plainfield, NJ/Franklin) paced the Knights with 16 points (7-18 FG, 2-5 FT) and added five steals and two assists. Sophomore forward MAXINE KAMINSKI (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) shot 5-of-10 from the field and finished with 12 points and six rebounds (five defensive); she scored 10 of her 12 in the first half.

Sophomore point guard NIDIA CARMONA (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) was under heavy pressure from the Raider press all game, but managed to tally seven rebounds, five assists and five steals in 39 minutes. Reigning NJAC Rookie of the Week, freshman guard/forward MARIA SUAREZ (Cliffside Park, NJ/Cliffside Park) chipped in with nine rebounds, seven points and four steals. 

The Scarlet Raiders had three players in double figures as ShaQuanna Marshall (Paterson, NJ/Paterson Catholic) led all scorers with 19 points. She shot 5-of-9 from the field and made 8-of-11 foul shots, while chipping in six rebounds, five steals and four assists. 

Senior forward Jaleesa Coleman (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) added a dozen points (5-11 FG) and junior guard Jared Tactuk (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) put in 10. Junior guard Brittany Smith (Salem, NJ/Salem) shot 4-of-7 and finished with nine points.

Newark outscored NJCU on the fast break, 14-2, and shot exactly 41.7 percent in each half. The Raiders also had nearly twice as many points in the paint—a 30-16 margin. In the opening stanza, NJCU shot 52.2% from the field but committed 22 turnovers, which led to 22 points for Rutgers-Newark in the period.

After two buckets assisted by Carmona, she knocked down a three-pointer of her own and NJCU led 7-0. But Newark used a relentless press to force six turnovers and scored 9 of the next 13 points to claim an 11-9 lead. NJCU regained a 13-11 lead at 9:32 before Coleman sank a three and the visitors led the remainder of the night.

NJCU remained close for much of the period. A three by Garcia kept NJCU within three (21-18, 6:57) and a Kaminski layup off a Garcia feed put the Knights four points behind, 24-20, with 5:57 left.  But Newark uncorked a 17-4 run to claim a 41-24 lead with 1:13 left in the half. Smith and Marshall each hit threes during the spurt and the Raiders eventually led 41-28 at the intermission.

Newark scored the first 15 points of the second half to account for their largest lead of the game—a 56-28 cushion with 13:41 remaining. The run ended when Garcia hit a jumper 6:29 into the period. In all, the Raiders pieced together a streak of 32-8 over a span of 12:10 between the late first and early second halves. NJCU was able to chip away at the deficit and drew within 16 before Newark prevailed.

NJCU returns to action on Saturday, December 4 with its toughest game of the season as No. 4/4 ranked Kean University visits the JMAC at 2 p.m. Newark hosts The College of New Jersey at 6 p.m. that evening at the Golden Dome.

—www.njcugothicknights.com—