Tournament Preview | Tournament Program

NEWARK, N.J. (November 17, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team routed Cedar Crest College 82-23 Friday night in the opening game of the John K. Adams Tip-Off Classic in The Golden Dome.
 
Four players were in double figures and 11 different players scored points as the Scarlet Raiders led from start to finish on their way to improving to 1-1 on the season. Rutgers-Newark will close the annual tournament with a game against St. Joseph's College – Long Island Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m., while Cedar Crest (0-1) will square off against Penn State University-Abington at 1 p.m. Abington topped St. Joe's 96-68 in the tournament's other game Friday night.
 
"It was a great team win tonight," said Head Coach Ashley Cieplicki after the game. "Our defense was much improved, and we are starting to notice players getting better and executing things we are working on. Tomorrow will be a tough game, so we will need to come ready to play."
 
The Scarlet Raiders dominated the first half, opening a 31-point lead after 20 minutes of play. Six different players scored points in the half, and senior Nicole Skelly poured in a team-high 12 off the bench. Skelly, sophomore Louise Ann Borja, junior Faith Ashby and sophomore Hannah Ashby all had eight points or more as the Scarlet Raiders shot an impressive 15-of-28 from the floor and 13-for-15 at the charity stripe.
 
Faith Ashby fed Hannah Ashby for a layup to stake Rutgers-Newark to a 9-2 advantage just 3:01 into the game, and a Skelly layup pushed the margin to 11 (15-4) with 3:46 remaining in the first. The Raider edge moved all the way to 17 (21-4) prior to the end of the first quarter, and a bucket from sophomore forward Barbara Hairs-Jackson pushed the lead into the 20's for the first time with 6:35 to play in the second. Skelly closed the scoring in the first half, converting with six seconds on the clock to give Newark a 45-14 margin.
 
Borja drilled a triple thanks to an assist from Faith Ashby to push the margin to 41 (57-16) midway through the third and Rutgers-Newark cruised the rest of the way.
 
R-N finished shooting 51.7 percent (31-for-60) from the floor, 4-for-10 from three and 16-for-21 (76.2 percent) from the line. The Scarlet Raiders held a 45-32 margin on the glass, and assisted on 20 of their 31 made baskets. Newark racked up 16 steals and five blocked shots, scoring 18 points via the fastbreak, 48 in the paint and 37 off turnovers.
 
Borja finished with 18 points and two steals, while Faith Ashby had 13 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals. Skelly had 14 points and four rebounds, Hannah Ashby had 10 points, two boards and two thefts, and junior Chelsea Scott tallied eight points and four rebounds. Newcomer Ania Harrell had six points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while sophomore Comfort Akinbo pocketed four points, seven rebounds, one block and two steals. Sophomore Genesis Bayronnotched two points and a career-high four assists, and sophomore Autumn Webster recorded a team-leading four steals.
 
Fans unable to get to The Golden Dome for Saturday's 3 p.m. tip-off against St. Joe's can tune in live via links at www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow @ScarletRaiders and @RN_WBB on twitter for the latest all season long.

Notes:
-Rutgers-Newark allowed a quarter-high of eight points Friday night, and held Cedar Crest to four points in the fourth.
-R-N has had four players in double figures in each of its first two games.
-Faith Ashby has recorded 17 assists in her first two games this year.
-The 82 points for Rutgers-Newark were the most since November 30, 2015 against Purchase College. The Scarlet Raiders won that game 82-65.