SOURCE: https://njcugothicknights.com/news/2019/1/9/201901-09_WBASKETBALL_vs_Ramapo.aspx

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The Ramapo College women's basketball team (7-8, 2-6 NJAC) scored 14 of the first 16 points to claim a 20-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and the New Jersey City University (3-10, 1-7 NJAC) women's basketball team could never recover, falling 71-55 in a New Jersey Athletic Conference matchup on January 9 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on Coach Charlie Brown Court.
 
The Roadrunners leaned heavily on their notable size advantage over the Knights, outrebounding NJCU 52-32 and outscoring them 44-12 in the paint. Junior forward Jenna Harsh (Metuchen, N.J.) led the way for Ramapo with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Ramapo came in with a distinct plan to pound the post, with Harsh scoring the first 10 points of the game for the Roadrunners. On the defensive side of the ball, they focused on shutting down NJCU senior guard Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune), and they perfected that game plan in the first quarter. By the end of the first, Harsh had twice as many points (12) as the entire NJCU team (6).
 
That margin proved to be enough to hold the rest of the way, as the Knights and Roadrunners played nearly dead even after the first. The Knights offense starting clicking a bit in the second quarter, as they two teams mostly traded buckets, with Bacon leading the way for NJCU with 10 first half points, and Jesenia Montalvo (Hillside, NJ/Bayonne) knocking down a trio of treys to chip in nine of her own first half points for the Knights.
 
The Roadrunners pushed the lead out to 19 late in the third quarter, but a Bacon three with 17 seconds left was followed by a Roadrunner turnover, and Bacon then drew a foul on a three and converted all three free throws. This cut the lead to 13 heading into the fourth and helped to breathe some life into one last potential push for the Knights.
 
Ramapo scored the first bucket of the fourth, however, and never looked back, not letting NJCU get any closer than the original 13-point margin at any point in the final frame.
 
Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) carried the NJCU offense once again, tallying 27 points on 26 shots, adding eight steals, four rebounds, and three assists to her stuffed stat line. Montalvo contributed a season-high 12 points, with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals to fill out her stat line. Senior Miesha Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) was the Knights best post presence, collecting 11 rebounds to go with her eight points, three assists, and three steals.
 
RCNJ junior guard Samantha Rinaldi (Ridgefield Park, N.J.), the Roadrunner's leading scorer, had 13 points (6-10 FG).
 
NOTABLES:

• Series: 72nd meeting. Ramapo leads, 44-28.
• Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) upped her scoring averaging yet again, now up to 24.7 points per game. She leads the NJAC and is fourth in the country in points per game. She also added to her steals per game total (5.08), which ranks second in all of Division III women's basketball.
• Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) now has 1,908 career points. She is 92 away from joining the 2,000-point club—something achieved by just 46 players in Division III history. The only other player in Division III near the milestone is Madison Temple of nation powerhouse Thomas More with 1,924 points, but has already played 22 games this season and does not play again until January 26.
• Bacon is on pace to score her 2000th point next week, at home either on Monday against Wesleyan or Wednesday, January 16 vs. Kean—her former school.
• Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) has now scored in double figures 80 times in 81 career games between Kean (2015-18, 67 times in 68 games) and NJCU (13 times in 13 games). Other updated career totals for Bacon:
  • 20-Point Games: 55 (44 at Kean, 11 at NJCU)
  • 25-Point Games: 36 (30 at Kean, six at NJCU)
  • 30-Point Games: 19 (16 at Kean, three at NJCU)
  • 35-Point Games: 9 (eight at Kean, one at NJCU)
  • 40-Point Games: 4 (all at Kean; career high, 44)

 
UP NEXT:

• In less than 24 hours the Knights have a rescheduled affair with Pratt Institute (4-3), a game which was originally supposed to be the Knights' season opener before being snowed out on November 15. The home game will now take place Thursday, January 10 at 5:00 p.m.

 
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