JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University women's basketball team overcame a slow start to the night on Wednesday, Nov. 29, in the squad's home-New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) opener against William Paterson University on Coach Charlie Brown Court at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). The Gothic Knights stormed back en route to the 19-point, 75-56 victory over the Pioneers to start conference play with two straight wins.
NJCU (3-2, 2-0 NJAC) had a tough first quarter against William Paterson (2-4, 1-1 NJAC), shooting just 25.0 percent from the floor, with senior guard Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) held scoreless. However, the Gothic Knights righted that ship quickly by outscoring the Pioneers by four in the second quarter, taking as much as a four-point lead, thanks to a 13-2 run midway through the period. Rodriguez poured in 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting in the second, including 2-of-2 from long range.
Trailing by just one to start the third, freshman guard Na'tori Postell (Passaic, N.J./Passaic Arts & Science Charter) drilled back-to-back threes to put her team up by five, giving the Green and Gold a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the night. Leading by just two at 39-37 with 6:42 to go in the period, NJCU enjoyed yet another 13-2 run to go up, 52-39 with 1:27 remaining in the third. Five different players scored during that stretch, including five more from Rodriguez, while Postell scored eight total in the third. The Gothic Knights took at 13-point, 57-44 lead into the fourth.
After the Pioneers started off the final quarter with a bucket of their own, NJCU cruised out to a game-high 22-point lead at 71-49 with just 4:28 to go courtesy of a 14-3 run. Rodriguez had the first eight points of that run, while senior forward Dayjah Anderson (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) notched a pair of buckets herself. Overall, after shooting just 27.0 percent from the floor in the first half, the Gothic Knights improved that to 44.2 percent in the second half, including an outstanding 55.0 percent (11-for-20) in the third quarter alone. The teams traded baskets over the final minutes before the Green and Gold walked away with the 75-56 victory.
Highlights:
- NJCU forced 20 turnovers and held the 20-8 advantage in points of turnovers. The bench also came alive, outscoring that of the Pioneers, 19-5.
- The Gothic Knights worked the offensive glass to the tune of 20 offensive boards, which led to a 17-5 advantage in second-chance points.
- Rodriguez led all scorers with 27 points, while dishing out a game-high-tying seven assists. She also had three boards and a team-high-tying two steals.
- Sophomore guard Tahirah Kelley (Linden, N.J./Immaculate Conception) had her second double-digit scoring performance of the season, adding 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
- Postell added eight points and three rebounds, while senior forward Sarah Edmond (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) had six points, two rebounds, one block, one steal and one assist.
- Junior guard Alaisha Mumford (Jersey City, N.J./Lincoln) tied the game-high with seven assists, adding four boards, a block and a steal off the bench.
- Anderson grabbed a team-best nine boards to go with one block, one steal and an assist.
Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to action on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 2, in Ewing, N.J., for a rematch of last season's NJAC Semifinal matchup against The College of New Jersey. NJCU and the Lions tip off at 1:00 p.m. as the Gothic Knights look for their third straight victory over TCNJ — the Green and Gold have bested the Lions in six of their last eight meetings.