EWING, N.J. – The New Jersey City University women's basketball team made it three straight victories in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 2, as the Gothic Knights defeated The College of New Jersey on the road, 69-62. NJCU has now won four of its last five games overall.
 
The Green and Gold (4-2, 3-0 NJAC) started off slow once again on Saturday, but a massive – with a capital M – second quarter changed the entire momentum of the game against TCNJ (3-4, 1-2 NJAC) as they emerged with the seven-point victory, which is their third straight against the Lions and seventh in the last nine meetings.
 
The first quarter saw TCNJ start off with an 11-point, 16-5 lead after 10 minutes of play. The home squad stretched out its lead to 14 points with a three to start the second. After that bucket, however, it was the Gothic Knights who cruised out to a 15-2 run to cut it back down to a one-point deficit at 21-20 with 6:15 to go in the half – senior forward Dayjah Anderson (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) scored seven points over that run. The Lions managed to get back up by five at 30-25 with 3:41 to go in the second, but NJCU once again cut it back down to a one-point deficit – even taking a few leads down the stretch – at the end of the half after outscoring TCNJ, 31-21, in the quarter.
 
NJCU started off the third with a 6-0 run to take a 42-37 lead with 5:49 to go until the fourth – sophomore guard Tahirah Kelley (Linden, N.J./Immaculate Conception) scored four of those six points. The Gothic Knights eventually went up by six points on a few occasions before taking a four-point lead into the final quarter. The Green and Gold stretched out that lead to eight points with 4:42 remaining in the game and held on to that advantage for the rest of the day, taking the seven-point victory at the final buzzer.
 
Highlights:
- Senior guard Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) poured in a game-best 28 points on 11-of-19 from the floor, adding a game-high-tying six assists.
- Anderson and junior guard Alaisha Mumford (Jersey City, N.J./Lincoln) also finished in double-figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Anderson also had five boards and a block, while Mumford led all players with eight rebounds and a pair of dimes.
- NJCU forced 15 turnovers, while only turning it over five times, and outscoring TCNJ 17-5 in points off turnovers.
 
Up Next:
The Gothic Knights remain on the road and head right up to Bridgeport, Conn., for a non-conference, inter-divisional matchup on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 3, against Division II University of Bridgeport. Tipoff against the Purple Knights is set for 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.