JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University dominated the middle of the game, outscoring the City College of New York 55-15 over the second and third quarters, in a 44-point, 91-47 rout in non-conference action on December 9 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
Tied after one quarter, NJCU's size was too much for CCNY to overcome and a 19-3 run in the second quarter was enough for NJCU to pull away as the Gothic Knights won their first home game of the 2019-20 season.
The Gothic Knights (2-5) outrebounded CCNY, 27-6, on the offensive glass and had a 26-1 edge in second-chance points. NJCU forced 36 turnovers and owned a 44-8 margin in points off giveaways. NJCU led by 40 after three quarters and nearly had a season scoring high (72 points) after 30 minutes. The Knights 91 points eclipsed its previous season high by 19. The Beavers dropped to 0-9.
Junior point guard Alexandria Sams led the Knights with an NJCU career high 24 points—shooting 6-of-11 from three-point distance—with six steals and three assists and a +/- of 33. After scoring two points in the first half, Sams scored 17 points in the third quarter, hitting 5-of-6 from three-point distance in the quarter.
Redshirt freshman center Jasmine Reese had the comeback game she needed, grabbing 14 rebounds—11 on the offensive glass—with 12 points and four steals. Junior small forward Dayjah Anderson was a transition spark, scoring 16 points with eight rebounds and three assists.
Also for NJCU, junior guard Mya Neal had nine points and seven rebounds and freshman small forward Naomi McCovery added nine points. Senior point guard Aaliyah McCrae got the start against her former team and grabbed five steals. All 16 healthy players logged at least five minutes of action.
CCNY freshman guard Reilly Boehm (Orland, Fla.), who came into the day averaging 24.6 per game, finished with 25 points but needed 25 shots to do it (10-25, 3-9 3FG). She had 14 points in the first half (5-15 FG). Sophomore guard Tianna Fumasoli (Elizaville, N.Y.) had 20 points (7-17 FG, 2-8 3FG). The two players combined for 45 of the 47 total points scored by CCNY.
Tied 16-16 after the opening quarter, NJCU outscored the Beavers 26-8 in the second quarter. NJCU outrebounded CCNY 16-4 in the first half which led to an 18-1 differential in second chance points and its bench held a 15-1 margin in the opening 20 minutes. The Knights owned a 29-7 scoring margin in the third quarter before clearing its bench.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- NJCU led by as many as six in the first quarter but shot just 6-of-16 in the opening quarter and found itself even with CCNY, 16-16, after 10 minutes. CCNY was 2-of-8 from the foul line in the opening period, otherwise would have led.
- Anderson's 10th point of the game gave NJCU a 25-21 lead halfway through the second quarter.
- After the Beavers scored with 5:32 to go in the period, NJCU outscored the visitors 19-3 the rest of the quarter. NJCU held CCNY without points for nearly four minutes (3:56). Five different players scored for NJCU during the run, led by Reese (5), Anderson (4) and Neal (4).
- A turning point came with 3:04 to go in the second. After Reese hit a free throw, she stole the CCNY inbounds pass and after missing a layup, grabbed her seventh rebound and finished the second chance (30-21).
- With 2:37 in the quarter, NJCU turned a missed shot into a quick 3-on-1 transition and Neal sank a jumper from the right baseline to push the lead into double figures (32-21) for the first time.
- With 45 seconds left in the quarter, another NJCU steal turned into points as Anderson hit a turn-around jumper to elevate the margin to 38-24.
- A Reese offensive rebound off a missed foul shot and putback in the final 10 seconds gave NJCU a commanding palindrome lead, 42-24, at the half.
- Back-to-back threes early in the third quarter by Sams gave NJCU a 54-26 lead and an offensive rebound became a floater by junior forward Ayanna Lewis to push the lead to 30 for the first time (56-26) with 7:03 remaining.
- NJCU outscored the Beavers 29-7 in the third quarter and the Knights led 71-31 after 30 minutes—its largest lead at that point.
NOTABLES:
- Series: 17th meeting. NJCU leads all-time, 13-4 (won last five). First meeting since December 10, 2011 in Jersey City.
- NJCU is 18-0 all-time when scoring 90 points in a game
- NJCU is 48-1 all-time when scoring at least 80 points in a game.
- NJCU defeated an opponent by 30+ points for the 65th time in school history and by 40+ points for the 41st time on record.
- Jasmine Reese scored in double figures for the sixth time in her career (third time in 2019-20) and had 10+ rebounds for the fifth time (second time this season).
UP NEXT:
- The Knights will host Montclair State University (4-3, 2-1 NJAC) in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, December 11 at 6 p.m. in Jersey City.
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