SOURCE: https://njcugothicknights.com/news/2019/1/30/201901-30_WBASKETBALL_vs_Montclair_State.aspx

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Montclair State University (13-8, 9-5 NJAC) came in with a clear game plan against the New Jersey City University women's basketball team in their New Jersey Athletic Conference showdown at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on January 30: Limit Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune), and use their size to their advantage. The six-time defending NJAC champions executed their plan to perfection, holding Bacon, tied as the leading scorer in the country coming into the game, to just 11 points, while out-rebounding the Knights 53-27 in a 62-43 Red Hawk victory.
 
Despite the quiet game from their star, and the fact that they were nearly doubled up on the glass, the Gothic Knights (4-17, 1-13 NJAC) did a good job of keeping the game close for parts of the second half, thanks in large part to a big third quarter.
 
Flashing back to the start of the game, however, it was a pair of made threes on the first two possessions from MSU that staked the Red Hawks to a quick 6-0 advantage. That was a lead they would never relinquish, leading the game wire-to-wire.
 
Thanks to 10 combined points from the Bacon sisters, the Knights held strong in the first, however, heading into the second quarter down six (18-12). However, the Knights couldn't find the basket in the second, tallying just three points for the quarter and going scoreless for the final 5:55 of the frame, to head into the break down 32-15.
 
Head coach Pat Devaney made some adjustments at the half and the Knights came out en fuego to start the third, with freshman Teresa Ortiz (Newark, N.J./University), returning to the lineup after missing the past three games with an injury, scoring a quick five points, and helping to lead the charge on a 23-point quarter. The Knights slowly chipped away at the double-digit margin, making it an eight-point game thanks to a pair of free throws by Miesha Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) in the quarter's final seconds (46-38).  
 
That eight-point gap was as close as the Knights would get, however, as the vaunted Red Hawks defense put the clamps back on in the fourth, limiting NJCU to another quiet quarter, this time with the Knights scoring just five points in the final frame.
 
Marajiah Bacon's (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) 11 points were a season-low, but they were enough to make her one of three NJCU players in double figures, as Miesha Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) led the way with 13 points, five rebounds, and three steals, and Ortiz chipped in 10 points, three rebounds, and two steals.
 
For MSU, Taylor Brown (Trumbull, Con..) led the way with 16 points, one of four Red Hawks in double figures. Sophomore guard Kim Calloway (Morristown, N.J.) had 13 points and seven rebounds, and junior forward Alex McKinnon (Fairfield, Conn) added 11 points. Sophomore forward Kayla Bush (Morristown, N.J.) finished with 11 points (4-5 FG) and two blocks. Senior forward Domonique Wirsing (Kinnelon, N.J.) had 11 rebounds and two blocks.
 
Montclair also had six players with at least five rebounds, as they outscored NJCU in the paint 26-14 and 17-4 on second-chance points. The Knights collected only 13 defensive rebounds on the evening.
 
NOTABLES:

• Series: 65th meeting, Montclair State leads 62-3 and has now won the last 31 meetings since February 13, 2002.
• Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) now has 2,105 career points, 37th in Division III history. Full list: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/2019/D3.pdf
• Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) saw her scoring average drop to 24.7 points per game. She still leads the NJAC in scoring but will likely drop to fifth in the country in points per game. Her steals per game also dropped, down to 4.6 steals per game on the season, where she ranks third in the country.
• Teresa Ortiz (Newark, N.J./University) returned to the lineup after missing the last three games and had her fourth career double-digit scoring effort in just five career games.
• Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) has now scored in double figures 88 times in 89 career games between Kean (2015-18, 67 times in 68 games) and NJCU (21 times in 21 games). Other updated career totals for Bacon:
  • 20-Point Games: 60 (44 at Kean, 16 at NJCU)
  • 25-Point Games: 41 (30 at Kean, 11 at NJCU)
  • 30-Point Games: 21 (16 at Kean, five at NJCU)
  • 35-Point Games: 10 (eight at Kean, two at NJCU)
  • 40-Point Games: 5 (four at Kean; career high, 46 at NJCU)
• Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) now needs 103 points over the final four games of the season to surpass Monique Hemingway's record of 620 points in 24 games in 1988-89. She would need to average 25.8 per game the rest of the year to reach the mark.
• Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) is chasing multiple single-season NJCU records. Here are all updates through game 21 of the 2018-19 season.

Points
1.    620    Monique Hemingway (24 games)     - 1988-89
2.    518    Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) (18 games)     - 2018-19
3.    462    Chris Mosca (22 games)     - 1980-81
4.    461    Doris Nicholson (27 games)     - 1988-89
5.    443    Tara Mitchell (23 games)     - 1997-98
 
Scoring average (minimum 10 games)
1.    25.8    Monique Hemingway     (24 games)    1988-89
2.    24.7    Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune)     (18 games)    2018-19
3.    21.0    Chris Mosca     (22 games)    1980-81
4.    20.7    Patrice Hurt     (13 games)    1984-85
5.    19.3    Tara Mitchell     (23 games)    1997-98
 
Field goals made
1.    241    Monique Hemingway (24 games)     - 1988-89
2.    205    Doris Nicholson (27 games)     - 1988-89
3.    188    Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) (18 games)     - 2018-19
4.    173    Doris Nicholson (22 games)     - 1987-88
5.    172    Tara Mitchell (23 games)     - 1997-98
 
Field goals attempted
1.    529    Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) (18 games)     - 2018-19
2.    477    Monique Hemingway (24 games)     - 1988-89
3.    430    Tara Mitchell (23 games)     - 1997-98
4.    404    Lashawn Overton (22 games)     - 2008-09
5.    403    Ebony Cunningham (23 games)     - 2009-10
 
Free throws made
1.    154    Chris Mosca (22 games)     - 1980-81
2.    138    Monique Hemingway (24 games)     - 1988-89
3.    135    Bria Smith (25 games)     - 2014-15
4.    103    Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) (18 games)     - 2018-19
5.    99    Tara Mitchell (23 games)     - 1997-98
 
Steals average (minimum 10 games)
1.    5.4    Latrese McNair     (27 games)    2004-05
2.    5.1    Latrese McNair     (24 games)    2005-06
3.    4.6    Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune)     (18 games)    2018-19
4.    4.4    Latrese McNair     (25 games)    2006-07
5.    4.0    Monique Hemingway     (21 games)    1984-85
 
UP NEXT:

• The Knights head to Galloway, N.J. to take on the Ospreys of Stockton University (6-15, 3-11 NJAC). In the first matchup between the two this season, NJCU took a historic victory, snapping a 58-game conference losing streak in the 68-67 win on January 5.

 
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