MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University women's basketball team (1-2) rounded out what ended up being an extremely action-packed New England road trip with a very solid performance against a tough opponent on November 19, falling 68-54 to Wesleyan University (Conn.). The Cardinals remained unbeaten with the win (3-0).
 
The Gothic Knights crammed a lot into their few days in New England: 
 

• They played the No. 1 team in the country (Amherst College) on Sunday; 
• They visited The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. on Monday;
• Their head coach, Patrick Devaney, Sr. had to hurry back to New Jersey in the middle of the night when his wife went into labor nine days early and he became a father for the second time (Donovan Jaxon Devaney);
• In Devaney's absence, lead assistant coach Mikeera Brown guided the team in her first-ever experience as a head coach against Wesleyan on Tuesday night

 
"I was definitely nervous and a little intimidated at first, but as the game started, the nervousness went away almost immediately," said Brown. "I definitely do have a newfound respect for the head coaching position considering how much you have to mentally multitask and think on your feet."
 
Despite Tuesday's game being the end of such a jam-packed 60 hours, NJCU put in a strong overall team performance, led once again by senior guard Hannah Johnson (Jersey City, NJ/Saint Dominic Academy), but with support coming from throughout the lineup.
 
"Hannah did very well tonight," Brown noted. "I was so into the game that I didn't even realize she scored 17 points."
 
Johnson led the team with those 17 points, adding six rebounds on 6-of-13 shooting, but 10 different players got on the scoreboard for the Knights, with their overall balance keeping the team in the game.
 
"I'm always proud of our team," said Brown. "We're a new team so everything is a work in progress at the moment. We definitely beat ourselves tonight, but with every game comes negatives and positives. We have so much talent, by the end of the year we'll be the team to beat."
 
Junior forward Ayanna Lewis (Willingboro, NJ/Burlington County institute of Technology) also had a strong outing, collecting a team-leading eight rebounds to go along with her eight points which were third on the team. Junior guard Alexandria Sams (Burlington City, NJ/Pennsauken) finished with nine points and five rebounds.
 
"Defensively, Ayanna did a great job at defending their post until she got into foul trouble," Brown explained. "Once everyone knows how to properly rotate on defense, we will be an enormous threat on the court."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was the Knights who jumped out to the first lead of the game, with seniors guards Aaliyah McCrae (Paterson, NJ/Manchester Regional) and Johnson each hitting layups on the first two possessions to give the Knights a quick 4-0 lead. 
 
The Knights didn't hold the lead for long, however, as Wesleyan scored seven of the next nine as part of an extended 21-7 run over the rest of the first quarter.
 
NJCU wasn't going to roll over, though, with Johnson once again getting to the basket for the first points of the second quarter, cutting the Cardinal lead back to single digits. The lead hovered right in that area for most of the second before a layup from Lewis and a three from Johnson sent the Knights into the half down only seven (33-26). 
 
The Cardinals got the lead back out to double digits early in the third, but they couldn't get the lead any bigger than 13, as NJCU battled throughout the quarter. Wesleyan were keyed by a Big Three of Marina Petruzzi (Clairton, Pa.) who had 22 points, six rebounds, and three assists; Caleigh Ryan (New York, N.Y.) who had 18 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists; and Katy O'Connor (Southampton, Mass.) with 12 points and seven rebounds. Ava Tompkins (Juneau, Alaska) also chipped in five points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.
 
In the fourth, the Knights made a run mid-quarter, shrinking the Cardinal margin to as little as eight with 4:33 remaining after a Lewis free throw, but they could not get closer than that, bowing out by 14 in the end. 
 
NOTABLES:

• Series: Second meeting. Wesleyan leads, 2-0.
• The Knights had only seven assists on the night, but they also limited their turnovers to just 13; Wesleyan had 23 assists compared to just 11 turnovers.
• The Knights outrebounded the Cardinals, 46-44 on the evening despite 6-1 center Janari Newsome (Newark, NJ/Technology) playing just one minute. Five different Knights had at least five rebounds.
• The NJCU bench outscored Wesleyan's subs 20-5 on the night, with two of the Cardinal starters playing 39 minutes and four playing at least 34 minutes. Johnson was the only Knight with more than 27 minutes played (35).

 
UP NEXT:

• The Gothic Knights come back home for not only their 2019-20 home opener, but also their New Jersey Athletic Conference opener on Tuesday, November 26, as they host Kean University (1-1) at 6:00 p.m. on the Coach Charlie Brown Court at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.

 
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