FROSTBURG, Md. (Nov. 19, 2016) – The Rutgers University-Camden women's basketball team raced to an 18-point first-quarter lead, saw Frostburg State University come all the way back to tie the game in the third quarter and then recovered to post an 81-70 win in the championship game of the Jim Crawley Tournament here Saturday afternoon.
The tourney is named for Frostburg State Hall of Famer Jim Crawley, who won over 300 games as the women's basketball coach and also had winning records coaching the school's men's basketball and football teams. He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1997.
The Scarlet Raptors were paced by a career-high 30 points from junior guard/forward Cara Racobaldo (Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic), who passed her previous high of 21 points against The College of New Jersey on Nov. 24, 2015. Racobaldo was named the tournament MVP, joining freshman guard Fatimah Williams (Camden, NJ/Timber Creek) on the all-tourney team. Williams scored 20 points in the Raptors' opening-night win over Pitt-Bradford on Friday.
In Saturday's consolation game, Pitt-Bradford routed York (NY) College, 95-50.
After beating Pitt-Bradford in its season-opening Jim Crawley semifinal game Friday, Rutgers-Camden (2-0) came out on fire against the host team, led by Racobaldo. She scored nine of the team's first 15 points as Rutgers-Camden jumped to a 15-1 lead. The Raptors ran the lead to 23-5 before Frostburg State scored the last two points of the quarter to make it a 23-7 game entering the second quarter. Racobaldo had 13 points and her fellow junior co-captain, forward/center Michelle Obasi (Camden, NJ/Camden Catholic) had eight points in the opening quarter.
The Bobcats stepped up in the second quarter with an 18-11 period to cut the halftime gap to 34-25. Racobaldo had 19 points and Obasi 10 in the opening 20 minutes for Rutgers-Camden, while Frostburg State had nine points from sophomore forward Amber Downey (Baltimore, MD/Chesapeake). Senior forward Kirsten Rayner (Lonaconing, MD/Northern Garrett) added eight.
Frostburg State battled all the way back to a 52-52 tie late in the third quarter, when freshman forward Amanda Emory (Halethorpe, MD/Seton Keough) hit the back end of a pair of foul shots. The Raptors, however, scored the last three points of the quarter on a free throw by Williams and a layup by sophomore guard Gabby Greene (Howell, NJ/Howell).
With senior forward/center Caroline Santiago (Buena, NJ/Buena Regional) taking over in the fourth quarter, the Scarlet Raptors opened up the lead on their way to an 11-point win. Santiago had nine points, four rebounds and one blocked shot in the quarter on her way to a 14-point, seven-rebound game. She added two assists and two blocks.
Racobaldo's 30-point game was sparked by 10-for-18 shooting from the floor and a 10-for-11 performance at the foul line. She added six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Greene finished with 14 points, five assists and three steals, while Williams and Obasi both finished with 10 points. Williams added five rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block, while Obasi had six boards, one assist, one block and four steals.
Frostburg State was paced by 18 points from Rayner, who also added a game-high 16 rebounds for a double-double. Senior guard Kache Fields (Brandywine, MD/Gwynn Park) collected 12 points, while sophomore guard Megan Kelly (Mt. Airy, MD/Linganore) and junior forward Alexis Welch (District Heights, MD/Crossland) both added 11 points.
Rutgers-Camden shot 28-for-61 (45.9) from the floor and 24-for-33 (72.7) from the foul line. Frostburg State shot 22-for-71 (31.0) from the floor and 22-for-30 (73.3) from the line, while holding a 46-43 edge off the boards. The Bobcats had 19 turnovers, while the Scarlet Raptors had 16.
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Tuesday playing their New Jersey Athletic Conference opener at 6 p.m. at The College of New Jersey.