JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The #2-seed New Jersey City University women's basketball program hosted #3-seed Kean University for a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament semifinal clash on Coach Charlie Brown Court at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) on Tuesday night, Feb. 20, in front of a high-spirited crowd. The Gothic Knights got out to a fast start and bookended that with a strong fourth quarter en route to a 61-48 victory over the Cougars. NJCU now heads south to Ewing, N.J., this Friday night, Feb. 23, at 7:00 p.m. to take on #1-seed The College of New Jersey for the NJAC Championship.
Early on, a couple of NJCU (18-8, 14-4 NJAC) baskets, paired with some Kean (17-10, 13-5 NJAC) turnovers and a raucous home crowd had the Gothic Knights momentum on full display, forcing a timeout by the Cougars with just 2:30 gone in the first. Out of the timeout, Kean managed to quickly tie it up at 4-4, but senior guard Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) began to take over, sinking back-to-back buckets. That momentum led NJCU to a dominant quarter overall, in which the squad outscored Kean, 20-8, and Rodriguez led all scorers with eight points on 4-of-5 from the floor.
Despite that performance for the Green and Gold, the second belonged to the visiting Cougars as the road team started off the quarter with a 9-0 run and managed to cut it back down to a two-point game at 22-20 with 2:21 remaining in the half. The teams then traded buckets from that point forward as NJCU managed to take a 28-24 lead into the locker room.
Quarter number three began just like the first, however, as the Gothic Knights scored seven unanswered – a couple of lay-ins from Rodriguez and a three-ball from reigning NJAC Rookie of the Week freshman guard Na'tori Postell (Passaic, N.J./Passaic Arts & Science Charter) – to go up 35-24 and force another early timeout by Kean at 8:23. The game stayed close throughout the quarter though as NJCU held the slight 16-14 advantage over Kean to take a 44-38 lead into the fourth. Rodriguez had eight more points in the period to lead all scorers.
The final quarter saw Kean start off by cutting the lead to just here at 48-45 with 6:44 to go in regulation, but from that moment on, the Gothic Knights turned on the jets and sprinted their way to the finish line to clinch the championship berth. NJCU answered that early push by the Cougars with an 11-0 run to go up by 14 at 59-45 with 2:12 to go, all of which was spurred by some inspirational play from Rodriguez.
She first drove the baseline to sink a lay-in at 5:26 and then in the following sequence, fought for a steal but wound-up diving hard into the stands. Tended to by the athletic trainers momentarily, she got up gingerly and came off the court. At 4:47 she returned to the game and proceeded to drain a long two-point jumper as the shot clock expired, much to the home crowd's delight. NJCU maintained that lead and took home the 13-point win as the final buzzer sounded.
Highlights:
- NJCU outscored Kean, 20-9, in points off turnovers, forcing 18 Cougar turnovers, including 11 Gothic Knight steals.
- Rodriguez led all scorers with 25 points on 11-of-19 from the floor, adding a game-best seven assists, six boards and two steals.
- Senior forward Dayjah Anderson (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) notched 13 points and a team-best nine boards.
Up Next:
As mentioned, the Green and Gold now travel down to Ewing, N.J., for the NJAC Championship game at #1-seed TCNJ on Friday night. The teams have split the regular-season series. However, NJCU has defeated the Lions in the programs' last three postseason meetings, topping them in the semifinals in 2021 and 2023 and taking the title in 2022.