EWING, N.J. — Despite trailing after the first quarter and at the half, the New Jersey City University women's basketball team used a powerful final three quarters to cement its spot in program history. The third-seeded Gothic Knights defeated second-seeded The College of New Jersey on the road on Friday evening, March 12, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament semifinal by a score of 73-63. NJCU outscored TCNJ 56-39 in the final three quarters to earn a berth to the program's first-ever NJAC Championship game in its 51-year history.

The Gothic Knights (8-2, 6-2 NJAC) were 0-1 in NJAC Tournament history prior to the 2018-19 season when head coach Pat Devaney, Sr. took the program over. Since then, he has guided NJCU to a 3-1 record, including a 2-0 mark this season en route to clinching the bid to the championship game. Before Friday, the Lions (9-1, 8-0 NJAC) had not lost a game this season, but the Gothic Knights dealt the first and final blow of the campaign to their semifinal hosts.

Who Made It Happened
Reigning NJAC Rookie of the Week Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) surpassed her career-high scoring total to lead all players with a game-best 26 on 9-of-19 from the floor, including a pair of three-pointers. She was also a perfect 6-of-6 from the line — 4-of-4 down the stretch in the game's final 00:17 — and added five boards, a game-high four assists and a pair of steals. Sophomore Sarah Edmond (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) was also a key player in the victory for NJCU as she was an efficient 5-of-7 from the floor, notched a block and a steal and led the Gothic Knights with a season-high nine rebounds.

How It Started
NJCU started off the day fast and jumped out to a 7-0 lead as seniors Mya Neal (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) and Dayjah Anderson (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) combined with Rodriguez for the offensive output. However, TCNJ outscored the Gothic Knights 24-10 the rest of the quarter and took the 24-17 lead after 10:00 of play.

How It Ended
The second quarter started off tough for both squads as neither was able to put points on the board until NJCU's junior Zyearah Taylor-Gaston (Jersey City, NJ/Marist (via St. Anthony)) drilled a three at 6:13 to make it a four-point game at 24-20. Rodriguez hit a long ball of her own at 5:35 to trim it to a one-point game at 24-23. The Gothic Knights were able to tie it up a couple of times over the next few minutes before Rodriguez gave them their first lead since early in the first at 32-31 with 2:13 remaining in the half. TCNJ hit a pair of free throws with 1:50 left and took the 33-32 lead into the lockerrooms. Overall, NJCU outscored the Lions 15-9 in the quarter.

The two teams traded the lead twice early in the third before the Gothic Knights exploded for a 12-1 run en route to an eight-point 46-38 lead with 4:50 left in the quarter. Anderson kicked it off with a jumper, followed by a Rodriguez steal that led to a layup for fellow rookie Briana Davis (Bronx, NY/Lincoln (via County Prep)). Later on, senior Ayanna Lewis (Willingboro, NJ/Burlington County institute of Technology) subbed in with 6:00 left and immediately sank a jumper to make it 42-38. Edmond then put away a pair of layups in 18 seconds from 5:08 to 4:50 to close the run. TCNJ hit a three for the next basket at 3:36 to make it a five-point game, but the Gothic Knights then went on another mini 5-0 run to take a game-high 10-point lead at the time at 51-41 following a three-point play from Anderson and a pair of free throws for Rodriguez. The Lions were able to trim the gap back to four points by the end of the quarter and the Gothic Knights took a 53-49 lead into the fourth.

Thanks to an 8-0 run to start the quarter, TCNJ was able to regain the lead at 8:12 at 57-54. That, however, would be the final time the Gothic Knights trailed for the remainder of the contest as they answered with a 9-0 run of their own. Rodriguez and Edmond started it off with a pair of two-point buckets, followed by a three from freshman Nahjeemah Holmes (Elizabeth, NJ/John E. Dwyer Tech) and closed out by a jumper from Anderson at 3:50 to make it a 62-57 game. The Lions trimmed it back to a one-point game at 62-61 with 2:55 remaining to put the night in question, but NJCU hunkered down and outscored TCNJ 11-2 down the stretch, including nine points from Rodriguez.

Highlights:
- Anderson finished with 13 points (second on the team) after shooting 50.0 percent from the floor (6-of-12). She added five boards and two assists.
- Holmes chipped in nine points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.

What's Next:
For the first time in program history, the Gothic Knights are headed to the NJAC Championship game. They will face top-seeded Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., on Friday, March 19, at 5:00 p.m. after the Red Hawks snuck by #5 Kean University 56-52 at home tonight as well. MSU defeated NJCU twice to end the regular-season this year, so the Gothic Knights will look to break that streak and make program-history with their first-ever NJAC title.