NEWARK, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | St. John Fisher College led 22-14 at the end of the first quarter before the New Jersey City University women's basketball team played the Cardinals even the next two quarters but couldn't recover in a 60-44 season-opening neutral court lost in the John K. Adams Tip-Off Classic at the Rutgers-Newark Golden Dome on November 14. It was the first game played under the NCAA's new quarters format for women's basketball.
St. John Fisher (1-0), reigning champions of the Empire 8 Conference, went 22-7 last year and advanced to the NCAA Division III Second Round before losing to Final Four qualifier Tufts. The Cardinals shot 36.8 percent in the win (21-57). NJCU (0-1) trailed 34-24 at halftime and 46-45 thru three quarters before the Cardinals pulled away late.
Senior forward Deseree Johnson (Red Bank, NJ/Monmouth Regional) scored a game-high 16 points in defeat and added nine rebounds in 39 minutes as she shot 6-of-11 from the field and 2-of-5 from three-point range. It was her 16th career double-digit scoring effort.