Sunday, November 28, 2010 (Women's Basketball)

SECOND HALF PLAY LIFTS MADONNA OVER NJCU, 70-40

JERSEY CITY, NJ (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University and Madonna University were knotted at 25-25 at halftime before the Crusaders outscored NJCU 45-15 in the second half as the NAIA Division II school defeated the Gothic Knights, 70-40, in a non-conference game on Sunday afternoon at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on "Coach Charlie Brown Court."

Madonna, of Livonia, Michigan, finished its New Jersey road trip with a 1-1 record and stands 2-3 on the year; the Knights, playing their 2010-11 home opener, fall to 1-3. It was the first meeting between the schools in women's basketball.

In defeat, NJCU freshman guard/forward player MARIA SUAREZ (Cliffside Park, NJ/Cliffside Park) notched her third consecutive double-double, netting game highs of 16 points (5-19 FG, 6-8 FT) and 11 rebounds (six offensive) in 35 minutes.

Madonna shot 48.3 percent in the second half (14-29) and .411 for the game (23-56). NJCU shot 13-of-57 for the game (.228) and 6-of-29 (.207) in the second half. NJCU committed 26 turnovers and the Crusaders, which collected 15 steals, held a 24-10 margin in points off turnovers.

For Madonna, sophomore guard Shantelle Herring (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) scored a team-best 14 points with three assists and three steals in 16 minutes off the bench. She shot 7-of-8 from the line (3-8 FG). Sophomore guard Heather Pratt (Flushing, Mich./Flushing) had 13 points, connecting on 5-of-6 shots, including 3-of-4 from three-point range.

Freshman guard Rachel Melcher (Sterling Heights, Mich./Marian Catholic) compiled nine rebounds, seven points, six assists and four steals.

Also for the visitors, senior guard Tabitha Wydryck (Wyandotte, Mich./Gabriel Richard) scored nine points (2-7 FG, 2-4 3FG) with five points and three steals. Junior center Becca Wojcinski (Waterford, Mich./Mott) added eight points and junior guard Erin Bentley (Monroe, Mich./Ida) tallied seven points.

NJCU rookie guard TATIANA CLARK (Newark, NJ/Newark Tech) finished with eight points, making 2-of-2 from three-point distance. Sophomore point guard NIDIA CARMONA (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) had five rebounds and three assists.

In the first half, NJCU scored the first field goal of the game at the 17:59 mark and did not score again for a span of 6:49. The dry spell continued and by the time the Knights netted their next basket with 8:05 to go in the half, NJCU had just one field goal in a span of 8:54. The Crusaders took advantage of the drought, jumping out to a 17-5 margin with 8:43 remaining when Wojcinski recorded back-to-back buckets. NJCU opened the game shooting 2-of-18 during the first 11:54 of action.

NJCU slowly began to shave at the deficit. Still trailing by nine with 5:22 left after another Wojcinski layup, Suarez, who scored 11 first half points, sank a jumper and Clark hit two foul shots. With 1:41 to go in the half, Suarez sank another shot to make it a four-point, 25-21 contest and after a basket by freshman power forward BRITTNEY EDWARDS (Newark, NJ/Newark Tech) with 1:05 to go, Suarez buried two free throws with 28 seconds remaining in the period. NJCU, which ended the half on a 12-3 run, sent the game to the intermission even at 25.

But Madonna, which scored 17 of the first 22 points in the first half, produced a 15-5 spurt out of the break to regain a double-digit lead and cruised from there. After Herring and sophomore forward MAXINE KAMINSKI (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) traded threes for a 28-28 tie, Wojcinski and Herring each had a layup and Melcher sank two foul shots and added a jumper before Pratt drilled a three with 15:06 to go, giving the Crusaders a 40-30 advantage, courtesy of a 12-2 spurt.

From there, scoring became vogue for Madonna. Two baskets by Pratt made it 46-32 with 13:02 on the clock. Later, Pratt sank a three to make it 55-35 with 10:07 left and Melcher buried another triple at 8:55. Madonna extended the run out of the break to 37-10 with a jumper with 6:54 to go for a 27-point, 62-35 cushion. Its largest lead of the game was 31, a 68-37 margin with 3:34 left.

NJCU will begin its 13-game New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule on Wednesday, December 1 when it hosts Rutgers-Newark at 6 p.m. Madonna visits Indiana Institute of Technology that night at 7:30 p.m. in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference action.

—www.njcugothicknights.com—