MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The New Jersey City University women's basketball team, seeded #6 in the 2021-22 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament, went on the road tonight, Tuesday, Feb. 22, for a quarterfinal matchup against #3 seed Montclair State University. The Gothic Knights entered the playoff battle having won two of the last three against the Red Hawks, with both wins coming at MSU's Panzer Athletic Center (including last season's championship). Tonight's match-up was a knock em down drag em out battle, that ultimately fell the Gothic Knights' way as sophomore Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) drilled a buzzer-beater to cap off a huge fourth-quarter comeback and give NJCU the 68-67 victory.
 

Jersey City (11-8) and the Red Hawks (14-10) played to a 31-31 tie at the midway point before Montclair State took control in the third quarter. The home team outscored NJCU by eight in that third period and held the 53-45 lead after 30 minutes of play. MSU eventually stretched that lead out to a game-high 10 points at 59-49 with just 8:47 remaining in regulation time. Additionally, two key players for the Green and Gold were battling foul trouble with four apiece in junior Laney Fox (Parkland, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) and freshman Tahirah Kelley (Linden, N.J./Immaculate Conception) – they both ultimately fouled out before the end of the night.
 
Enter Rodriguez, who was playing with an extra edge tonight after narrowly missing out on NJAC Player of the Year honors as the conference announced the All-NJAC teams earlier today. The now-two-time NJAC First Team All-Conference selection entered the fourth quarter with 14 points – however she exploded for another 14 over that final 10 minutes to lead all players with a game-high 28 points, adding six total assists on the night as well.
 
Montclair State managed to hold on to an eight-point, 61-53 lead with 5:21 left and it looked as though the Gothic Knights may have fallen just short of their bid to continue their title defense in the semifinals. Then, Rodriguez scored three points and junior Jada Camacho (Jersey City, N.J./Dickinson) followed with a huge three from the corner near the NJCU bench at 3:02 to make it 61-59. Montclair State would answer with another three at 2:32 to stretch it back out to a five-point advantage.
 
The Gothic Knights, with a Rodriguez coast-to-coast lay-up, trimmed it back down to three at 64-61 with 2:24 left and then Camacho nabbed a steal at the three-point line in front of the Red Hawks bench. Head coach Pat Devaney, Sr., immediately called a timeout to regroup and move the inbounds play to NJCU's offensive end. Out of the break, the play Devaney drew up resulted in a HUGE three from Rodriguez to tie it up at 64-64 with 1:49 left. Montclair would answer seconds later and retake the lead. After an empty possession on each end, junior Jimmirah Johnson (Prospect Park, N.J./International) pulled down a huge rebound with under a minute left. She handed it off to Rodriguez who went coast-to-coast once again, but this time dropped it off to Kelley who sank her only basket of the night to tie it back up at 66-66 with 00:51 left.
 
Neither squad would score for the next handful of possessions and, after Fox and Kelley fouled out, Montclair split a pair of free throws with just 0:03 on the clock. Once again, Devaney called a timeout to move the inbounds play up to NJCU's offensive end and – with time expiring – the ball ended up once again in Rodriguez' trustworthy hands. She drove baseline, pulled up and let go a floater toward the basket – IN. GOTHIC KNIGHTS WIN.
 
The large contingent of Gothic Knights faithful in attendance – "The Green Army" – stormed their fellow Gothic Family in celebration. Chants of "D-Rod" and "MVP" echoed the halls of the Panzer Athletic Center and, as is customary in monumental victories, Rodriguez eventually ended up on someone's shoulders at the end of the night with family and friends continuing to chant: "D-Rod! D-Rod!"
 
Up Next:
Jersey City will bring that energy to Glassboro, N.J., on Thursday night, Feb. 24, when the squad faces off with #2 seed Rowan University at 5:30 p.m. in the NJAC semifinals. The Gothic Knights played the Profs just once this season and dominated them at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) back on Feb. 9 by a final score of 73-59 – they'll look continue that trend on Thursday.