JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University women's basketball team returned to the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center this evening, Wednesday, Jan. 31, in a matchup against New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) foe Ramapo College. Both teams entered the day tied for fourth place in the NJAC standings with nine wins each. From the opening whistle, the Gothic Knights controlled all 40 minutes, jumping out to an early lead that they did not concede. Despite a second half rally by Ramapo, the Gothic Knights saw off the Roadrunners, 53-41. Senior guard Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) and junior guard Alaisha Mumford (Jersey City, N.J./Lincoln) each finished in double figures with 14 and 10, respectively, while senior forward Sarah Edmond (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) grabbed 12 rebounds for the second straight game and finished a couple points shy of a double-double. This marks the third time this season that the Gothic Knights have held their opponent to less than 50 points and is the least amount of points they have allowed.

As mentioned, NJCU (12-7, 10-4 NJAC) did not concede the lead or allow a tied score all evening to Ramapo (13-8, 9-5 NJAC). The game began with two quick baskets courtesy of Rodriguez and senior forward Dayjah Anderson (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech), which would be the start of a 10-4 run by the Green and Gold from the opening tip. They would hold Ramapo to just 10 points in the first quarter on 4-of-13 from the field, continuing what has been an impressive campaign on the defensive end. The second quarter began just as the first, except this time the Gothic Knights erupted for a 15-2 run, jumping out to a comfortable 35-12 lead with 2:00 minutes left to play in the first half. NJCU continued to shut down the Roadrunners' offense, holding them to just nine points on 4-of-16 shooting in the second, and would head into the locker room with a healthy 37-19 lead.

However, Ramapo did not lie down coming out of halftime, immediately hitting two quick three-pointers after the restart to shave the Gothic Knight lead to 12. Both squads traded punches for the remainder of third, and despite shooting 18 percent from the field coming out of the half and allowing the Roadrunners their best offensive quarter of the game, the Green and Gold remained with a double digit advantage through three quarters of play. Similar to the third, the Gothic Knights continued to struggle offensively in the fourth and relied on team defense and points at the charity stripe to contain Ramapo down the stretch. Mumford and Anderson combined for 4-of-6 shooting from the free throw line in the fourth quarter alone and the Gothic Knights forced the Roadrunners into six turnovers and held them to 3-of-11 shooting in the the final 10 minutes. With tonight's victory, NJCU is tied for third place in the NJAC with Kean University heading into the matchup against Rutgers-Newark.

Highlights:
- The Green and Gold finished the game with 11 steals; four Gothic Knights were credited with steals, including nearly half by Edmond (5).
- Edmond's 12 rebounds are the third time she has reached double figures in the category this season.
- NJCU outscored Ramapo in points off the bench, 16-4, and points in the paint, 24-18.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 3, to host local NJAC rival Rutgers-Newark at the JMAC. Tip off is set for 1:00 p.m.