Box Score

MAHWAH, NJ – Rutgers-Newark rallied behind the inside play of Jade Howard and Jewell Palmer to edge Ramapo, 57-52, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference battle in the Bradley Center.

Howard posted her second double-double of the season with 15 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and three assists while Palmer matched her frontcourt mate for game scoring honors with 15 while adding seven rebounds and three steals as the Scarlet Raiders (6-3, NJAC 4-2) took their second straight in league play.

Palmer had a steal, a key defensive rebound and a pair of free throws in the final 30 second seconds when the Raiders held off the Roadrunners (6-3, NJAC 2-3) who had the ball and a deficit of only two points.  A steal by junior forward Jasmine Daniels at the 30-second mark set up a pair of free throws by freshman guard Laura Shakiri with 24 ticks left to push the lead back to four.  Palmer hauled down a missed free throw with 10 seconds left and cashed in on a pair of free throws to make it 55-49 with seven ticks remaining.

Ramapo senior guard Faith Flannery gunned in a 3-point jumper with just two seconds left to make it a 3-point game, but Raider rookie guard Maria Simmons sank a pair of free throws with one second left for the final margin.

The Raiders surged from a 5-point halftime deficit to take a 37-32 lead with a 14-4 run to start the second half.  Sophomore center Sharee Gordon capped the run with a conventional 3-point play with 11:29 left, but Roadrunners regained the advantage at 42-41 on a 3-point jumper by Flannery with 7:28 left.

In a nip-and-tuck first half, the Roadrunners scored the final five points to take a 28-23 lead despite seven points, eight rebounds and a pair of assists by Howard.  After Daniels knotted the score at 23-23 with a jumper, junior forward Micaela Moore hit a field goal to start the Ramapo spurt over the final 1:21 of the period.  Rutgers-Newark dominated the boards, 24-14, but it also committed a dozen turnovers while hitting just two of nine 3-point attempts in the half.

A 3-point jumper by Simmons gave the Raiders their biggest lead of the opening half at 14-7 with 10:39 left, but Ramapo went on a 10-0 run capped by back-to-back buckets by Moore to seize their first lead at 17-14.  Rutgers-Newark did not score for over six minutes to allow the Roadrunners back into the contest.  Nine of the 10 Ramapo players used in the first half scored with Moore netting six to lead the way.

Simmons knocked down all three of her jumpers from beyond the arc to finish with nine points, a career-high eight rebounds and three assists – and keep the Raiders from having their worst 3-point shooting night of the season.  Rutgers-Newark made just four of 14 (2.86%) of their long range jumpers.

Gordon, who added five points and two blocked shots, finished with seven rebounds to help the Raiders dominate the boards, 50-28.  Daniels tallied six rebounds, four points and two assists.

Moore notched a double-double for Ramapo with 10 points and 10 rebounds plus four steals while sophomore forward Alex Milne contributed 10 points and five rebounds.  Flannery finished with seven points and a game-high five assists.

Rutgers-Newark hosts unbeaten Baruch College (7-0) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in The Golden Dome in a non-conference test.  It will be the Raiders' final outing before the fall semester exam break.