MAHWAH, N.J. — The New Jersey City University women's basketball team earned a hard-fought victory on the road on Wednesday night, Feb. 1, over New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) rival Ramapo College. NJCU and the Roadrunners went back and forth all night long, however the Gothic Knights eventually pulled out the two-point win, 68-66, thanks in part to some strong play from juniors forward Jimmirah Johnson (Prospect Park, N.J./International) and guard Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus).

Ramapo (14-7. 8-6 NJAC) held a slim two-point lead after the first two quarters of play, however a huge second half on the boards for Johnson — paired with her career-high 19 points — helped Jersey City (10-10, 10-4 NJAC) take the lead back and eventually hold on for the victory. Overall, Johnson led the Green and Gold with 14 rebounds (10 in the second half) to go with a game-best two blocks. It was her second consecutive double-double and the seventh of her collegiate career. Not to be outdone, Rodriguez once again led all players with a game-high 23 points and has scored at least 20 in 15 straight (and in 17 of 19 this season).

The first quarter saw NJCU jump out to a quick five-point lead, but the Roadrunners answered with a 12-3 run of their own to jump out to a four-point, 14-10 lead with 3:37 to go before heading into the second up buy three at 17-14. Jersey City looked to turn it around in the next quarter and started off hot via a 14-3 run — including 14 straight points after Ramapo opened the second with a three — to grab hold of an eight-point, 28-20 lead with 4:12 to go until the half. Rodriguez scored 10 of those points and NJCU looked to be cruising once more. Not to be overshadowed, Ramapo then scored nine straight to take a one-point, 29-28 lead with 1:04 to go. After a couple of Johnson free throws, the Roadrunners drained a three in the waning moments to take a two-point lead into the break.

Quarter number three saw the squads trade the lead several times before Ramapo eventually took a four-point, 40-36 lead with 5:41 remaining until the fourth. Then, seven straight points for NJCU flipped the script and put the visitors up by three at 43-40 with 4:17 to go in the third, including five points from Johnson, before NJCU took a slim, one-point advantage (51-50) into the final quarter.

An 8-0 run at the midway point of the fourth helped the Green and Gold stretch its lead out to six at 63-57 with 4:29 to go and eventually to seven after Johnson sank a pair of free throws with 2:58 remaining. Momentum, however, shifted once again and Ramapo scored three straight unanswered buckets to cut the lead to just one at 67-66 with 1:07 to go. Neither team made a field goal the rest of the game and, with 11 seconds to go, Rodriguez split a pair of free throws and bring it ti 68-66. The Roadrunners had one final chance to tie it with three seconds remaining, but could not connect.

Highlights:
- Rodriguez added a team-best six assists and a game-high-tying four steals to her point total. She also had six rebounds.
- Senior guard Jada Camacho (Jersey City, N.J./Dickinson) rounded out NJCU's double-figure scorers with 14 to go with three boards and a block.
- Junior forward Kyara Cowan (Maywood, N.J./Hackensack) posted a respectable seven points and nine rebounds over 20 minutes on the floor.
- The Gothic Knights held a 21-14 offensive rebounding advantage, which led to a 21-8 scoring differential in second chance points.
- Additionally, led by Johnson, NJCU outscored Ramapo 40-18 in points in the paint.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights halted their brief two-game skid with tonight's win and now look to string together two in a row on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 4, on the road against Rutgers-Newark. Tipoff against the Scarlet Raiders is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. as Jersey City looks for the season sweep.