Semifinal Preview | NJAC All-Conference Release

Updated Bracket | Highlights

UNION, N.J. (February 22, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team will play for the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. The sixth-seeded Scarlet Raiders topped second-seeded Kean University, 77-71, Wednesday night in Harwood Arena, and will take on top-seeded Montclair State University Saturday at 1 p.m. for the conference crown.
 
The Scarlet Raiders were able to erase a 10-point first-half deficit and held a talented Kean squad to just seven points in the final 8:24 of the game to earn the win.
 
R-N (12-15) was led by senior guards Maria Simmons and Shala Glenn who both tallied double-doubles in the victory.  Simmons poured in 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting with 11 rebounds and four assists. Glenn scored 18 points (7-for-12), grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out five assists, adding two steals to her line as well.
 
Like the Saturday upset at Stockton, freshman guard Autumn Webster hit a huge three-pointer to give the Scarlet Raiders a lead, turning a 66-64 deficit into a 67-66 advantage with less than four minutes to play. Kean would go back on top moments later with a long jumper from guard Marajiah Bacon and a free throw from De'Mean Bond (69-67), but three-straight points from Simmons gave Newark a 70-69 lead with 2:20 on the clock.
 
Simmons hit 2-of-4 at the line to push the lead to three points with 1:15 remaining, and after a Kean bucket, Glenn found junior forward Nicole Skelly for a huge jumper and a 74-71 advantage with 43 seconds left.
 
R-N would clinch it on the defensive end and at the line, keeping its improbable postseason run going with a second-straight upset victory.
 
The Scarlet Raiders shot 42.4 percent from the field, 20 percent from deep and 18-for-34 at the line, scoring 42 points in the paint and 19 via offensive rebounds. R-N held a 50-49 edge on the glass, keeping Kean to just 34.2 percent shooting overall and 29.4 percent from long range.
 
Joining Simmons and Glenn in double figures was sophomore guard Faith Ashby who had 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Skelly had 11 points - none bigger than her jumper with less than a minute to play - and six rebounds in a sterling performance off the bench.
 
Midway through the first quarter, Ashby hit a pair at the line to give Rutgers-Newark a 12-11 lead, but the Cougars responded with an 8-0 run to take a 19-12 edge.
 
Newark countered with buckets from Skelly and Webster and the two teams went to the second quarter with Kean holding a 19-16 margin.
 
A Skelly triple early in the second made it a 22-19 game, with the Cougars pushing the lead to 10 (38-28) with 4:48 to play in the first half. Freshman guard Hannah Ashby hit a three-pointer to slow the momentum, and senior guard Maria Simmons followed with two foul shots as the Scarlet Raiders quickly sliced the lead to five points (38-33).
 
The two sides traded baskets down the stretch, and Rutgers-Newark went into the break trailing 43-38. Glenn had a sparkling first half, scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting with six rebounds and four assists – all team-highs.
 
A pair from Simmons pulled her team back within three points early in the third quarter, and after Kean extended the lead back to seven (55-48), back-to-back buckets from Faith Ashby made it a 55-53 game at the 2:51 mark. The Scarlet Raider defense got a stop on the first possession of the fourth quarter, and a Simmons layup made it seven-straight points to tie the score at 55-all with 9:49 left in regulation, setting the stage for the thrilling fourth-quarter win.
 
Rutgers-Newark will be looking for its first-ever NJAC Championship, and the Scarlet Raiders will enter Saturday's game having won 6-of-8 and three-straight must-win contests. Montclair State advanced to the tournament final with a win over Rowan University.

Fans can expect a full preview of the conference title game at www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com Friday.