Brooklyn, NY --- The Brooklyn College Women's Basketball team suffered a heartbreaking, 56-55, loss on Monday night at the West Quad Center against non-conference rival Rutgers-Newark. With the loss, BC drops to 9-5 overall on season; while Rutgers-Newark moves to 11-5 overall on the year.

Following a pair of free throws from sophomore Nicole Francomano that put the Bulldogs ahead by three, 55-52, with just 16 seconds left in the game; the Scarlet Raiders answered with two big baskets in the closing seconds from Jade Howard and Shaquanna Marshall, respectively, to squeak out the 56-55 victory.

After Howard's bucket to cut Rutgers-Newark's deficit to one, 55-54, the Scarlet Raiders forced a BC turnover to set up Marshall's eventual game-winner. Brooklyn would have a chance to answer with a potential game-winner of its own; however, the shot would be off mark.

The first half featured two lead changes and a tie, as the visitors controlled much of the ballgame. Brooklyn's largest lead of the opening half was three, 7-4, at the 14:10 mark, while Rutgers-Newark led by as many as nine, 32-23, which was the score heading into the halftime break.

After a three-pointer from Vanessa D'Ambrosi cut BC's deficit to one, 24-23, with 3:10 left in the half, the Scarlet Raiders would close out the period on an 8-0 run to take their nine point halftime lead.

Rutgers-Newark would continue to push its lead in the second half and lead by as many as 11 on a number of occasions. However, the Bulldogs would not go down without a fight, as the home team would stage a furious comeback.

Down 11, 48-37, with 11:41 remaining in the game, Brooklyn would go on a 16-4 run to go up 53-52 with 1:19 left in the game; setting the stage for the thrilling finish. Charnelle Saint Laurent scored eight of BC's 16 points in the run to help fuel the Bulldogs' rally, including nailing the three-pointer to put the home team ahead.

For Brooklyn, Saint Laurent scored a team-high 16 points, while Tiffany Thompson added eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds. D'Ambrosi chipped in with 10 rebounds as well, as BC won the battle of the glass, out-rebounding Rutgers-Newark, 50-42. Asia Foster added seven points and four rebounds coming off the bench, while Francomano finished with seven points.

Rutgers-Newark was led by Howard's double-double with a game-high 18 points, to go along with 10 rebounds. Maria Simmons had a well all-around game, finishing the night with 11 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals; while Marshall added eight points, six steals, five assists and five rebounds, including accounting for the eventual game-winning bucket.

For the game, Brooklyn shot 30.6% (19-62) from the field, including going 5-for-19 (26.3%) from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs also shot 63.2% (12-19) from the line.

The Scarlet Raiders shot 39.0% (23-59) from the field and just 14.3% (1-7) from three. Rutgers-Newark also shot 45.0% (9-20) from the charity stripe.

Brooklyn returns to the court on Wednesday, January 16th, as the Bulldogs will be on the road for a crucial CUNY Athletic Conference contest against the Hawks of Hunter College. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm.