WAYNE, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The 2020-21 New Jersey City University women's basketball team officially owns the best start to a season in the 51-year history of the program. Trailing by four after three quarters, the Gothic Knights responded by outscoring host William Paterson 24-4 in a resounding fourth-quarter statement to knock off the Pioneers, 62-46, on February 20 at the William Paterson Rec Center.
 
NJCU improved to 6-0 overall and 6-0 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference — breaking the tie it held with the 1974-75 squad (5-0) for the best start to a season in the program's history. NJCU has won six consecutive games in league play for the first time.
 
Meanwhile, NJCU swept the season series with William Paterson (2-4, 2-4 NJAC) after yesterday's 69-49 rout in the opener of the home-and-home series and has won three consecutive games against the Pioneers for the first time in 79 all-time meetings.
 
The overall current six-game winning streak is the second longest in program history. The 1980-81 club won eight consecutive games to close that season, then won two in a row to open the 1981-82 campaign to produce 10 consecutive wins over two seasons.
 
Senior wing Dayjah Anderson exploded for a career-high 24 points on a sizzling 11-of-18 shooting to spark the Knights in 32 minutes and senior guard Mya Neal matched a career-high with a game-best 11 rebounds.
 
Neal's effort helped highlight a fantastic defensive effort which held the Pioneers to 35 percent (17-49, .347) shooting from the field and scoreless from behind the arc (0-for-11).
 
After shooting just 2-of-13 in the third quarter (15.4 percent), NJCU answered the bell by turning that around in the fourth when it was unconscious, hitting on 10-of-14 shots — a 71.4 percent quarter that put a punctuation mark on the win. Meanwhile, NJCU's defense clamped down, limiting the host Pioneers to just 1-of-11 shooting in the final 10 minutes (9.1 percent).
 
Freshman point guard Damaris Rodriguez posted 11 points and three steals and freshman guard Nahjeemah Holmes added 10 points, including 2-of-4 three-point shooting.
 
William Paterson sophomore forward Allison McBride had 10 points (5-9 FG) and nine rebounds while Brianna Brooks led the hosts with 11 points. Junior forward Justina Cabezas, who was named the NJAC Player of the Week on Monday, had nine points and nine rebounds.
 
The first half of the contest saw a fierce back-and-forth effort take shape, as neither team could pull away from the other despite plenty of scoring opportunities. NJCU managed to scratch out an 8-4 lead momentarily in the first, but it was short lived as the teams ended the first frame tied at 12 apiece. The second quarter of play began with the Pioneers scratching out a small lead which was quickly erased by two free throws from senior forward Ayanna Lewis and a bucket in the paint from Holmes, pulling the Knights back in front at the 6:56 mark. NJCU managed to build their largest lead of the half to five on the back of two Anderson fastbreak scores, eventually heading to the locker room with a 30-26 advantage.
 
The Knights continued to exploit their fast break opportunities but could never quite shake the host Pioneers, only leading by as many as four points through most of the third frame. A 10-2 run by William Paterson over the last 6:21 of the third put the hosts back in the driver's seat going into the final quarter, but Coach Pat Devaney's squad used a trademark barrage of fourth quarter points to secure the win, responding with a 24-2 run to over the first eight minutes of the frame. The Knights' dominance down the stretch was fueled by Rodriguez, who added seven of her 11 points in crunch time, and Anderson putting an exclamation point on her shining day, dropping 10 in the final frame to seal the sweep for her team.
 
NOTABLES:

• Series: 79th meeting, William Paterson leads all-time series, 65-14. NJCU has won three in a row, including consecutive road games in Wayne.
• Dayjah Anderson scored in double figures for the 22nd time in 30 games at NJCU, the sixth straight game this season and the ninth game in a row.
• Anderson scored 20+ points for the third time this season and in her career.
• Mya Neal tied her career high for rebounds with 11; she previously had 11 against Pratt Institute on January 10, 2019.
• Damaris Rodriguez has scored in double figures in six consecutive games to open her collegiate career.
• Nahjeemah Holmes scored in double figures for the third time in her first career four games.

 
UP NEXT:

• In the final weekend series of the abbreviated regular season, NJCU will look to make history by beating Montclair State University, the perennial NJAC powerhouse, for the first time ever on the road. Montclair State leads the all-time series, 68-3, and is 33-0 at home against NJCU in its history. The two unbeaten NJAC teams will play the away leg of a home-and-home with Montclair on Friday, February 26 at 5:00 p.m. The Red Hawks have won the last 34 meetings, dating back to 2002. As with all games this season, fans will not be permitted to attend but can follow live stats and video at www.njcugothicknights.com.

 
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