JERSEY CITY, NJ – Reserve freshman point guard
ShaQuanna Marshall had 19 points, five steals, six rebounds and four assists to pace unbeaten Rutgers-Newark to a 72-50 win over New Jersey City.
BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY
Marshall tallied a dozen points, four steals and three assists in just 14 minutes of the opening period to help the Scarlet Raiders (6-0, NJAC 1-0) to a 41-28 edge against the Gothic Knights (1-4, NJAC 0-1) in the New Jersey Athletic Conference opener for each squad.
Senior forward
Jaleesa Coleman had a dozen points and three steals while junior guard
Jared Tactuk notched 10 points, three rebounds and two steals. Each player put in just 18 minutes on the floor.
Freshman guard
Brittany Smith chipped in nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals to help the Raider bench out score their counterparts, 34-26.
Marshall had seven points, two steals and an assist as the Raiders chased down NJCU after falling into a 7-0 hole during the opening 2:22. Her steal and conventional 3-point play drew the teams even at 9-9.
Rutgers-Newark went on a 30-11 run capped by a pair of free throws by sophomore guard
Kristen Venning with 1:13 left in the first period to take commanding 41-24 lead. Venning pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and scored six points.
The Raiders blanked the Gothic Knights for the first six and a half minutes of the second period to expand their lead to 56-28 before 10th-year head coach
Kevin Morris pulled his starters. The win extended the best start in Morris's tenure at Rutgers-Newark.
Senior guard Carolina Garcia came off the bench to pace the Gothic Knights with 16 points and five steals while sophomore forward Maxine Kaminski added a dozen points and six rebounds.
NJCU's high-scoring freshman forward Maria Suarez was limited to just seven points, but she contributed a game-high nine rebounds, four steals and three assists. Sophomore guard Nidia Carmona posted five assists, five steals and seven rebounds.
Rutgers-Newark hosts The College of New Jersey in an NJAC twinbill on Saturday in The Golden Dome. The women tip off at 6 p.m. with the men to follow at 8 o'clock.
