NJAC Release

PITMAN, N.J. (November 11, 2015) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team was picked to finish seventh in the New Jersey Athletic Conference according to a poll of the league's 10 head coaches, it was announced Wednesday morning.
 
Under first-year Head Coach Ashley Cieplicki, the Scarlet Raiders will be looking to build upon a 2014-15 season that saw them go 15-14 overall and 9-9 in the conference, reaching the NJAC semis and ECAC Metro Tournament title game.
 
Topping the poll with six first-place votes was Stockton University and coming in second was Montclair State University. The College of New Jersey was picked third, Rowan University was fourth and William Paterson University – picked fifth – was the NJAC's 'dark horse' candidate. Kean University and Rutgers-Newark were sixth and seventh, with Rutgers University-Camden, Ramapo College and New Jersey City University rounding things out.
 
The Scarlet Raiders won 5-of-8 home conference games a season ago, going 3-5 on the road. R-N earned a win in the opening round of the conference tournament before falling at Stockton University in the semifinals.
 
This year, Rutgers-Newark opens with the John K. Adams Tip-Off Classic, squaring off against John Jay and St. John Fisher College, before visiting Connecticut College on November 21. The Scarlet Raiders open conference play against New Jersey City University on November 23 in The Golden Dome Arena. The top-six teams make the NJAC Tournament with seeds one and two earning byes into the semifinals.
 
Captaining a young and relatively inexperienced group will be junior guard Maria Simmons and senior guard Arianna Williams. The veteran back court has combined to for 140 games played and more than 1,000 career points.
 
Saturday's 2015-16 season-opener in The Golden Dome Arena is slated for a 2 p.m. tip-off and all the action can be followed live (video and live stats) via links at www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com.