Box Score
MONTCLAIR, NJ – Cold shooting by Rutgers-Newark helped Montclair State post an important 58-51 New Jersey Athletic Conference win in the Panzer Athletic Center.
The Scarlet Raiders (15-6, NJAC 6-4) shot just 30.2% (19-63) from the floor and 45.8% (11-24) from the free throw line against the Red Hawks (16-7, NJAC 6-5) who earned a split of the regular-season series between the NJAC North Division foes.
Freshman forward
Jade Howard netted 15 points and snared eight rebounds for Rutgers-Newark, but she was the only Raider to make better than 50% of her field goals (5-9) and free throws (5-7).
Senior guard
Brittany Smith came off the bench for a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while freshman center
Sharee Gordon pulled down nine rebounds to help Rutgers-Newark control the boards, 47-41.
Sophomore guard
Jasmine Daniels tallied eight rebounds, five points, two assists and two steals for the Raiders while senior forward
Lori Nieves chipped in eight points and three rebounds.
The high-scoring guard tandem of senior
Kendra Johnson and
ShaQuanna Marshall was limited to a combined nine points on three for 22 shooting from the floor. Johnson had a game-high three steals while Marshall dished off a game-high three assists.
Freshman forward Melissa Tobie piled up game highs of 18 points and a dozen rebounds for Montclair State which got 30 points from its bench. Junior forward Taylor Jeffers and freshman guard Janitza Aquino came off the bench for a dozen points each. Jeffers also added eight rebounds and two steals while Aquino tallied four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
A 3-point play by Jeffers gave the Red Hawks a 31-21 lead with 1:51 left in the opening half. The Raiders trailed 31-22 at the break.
Montclair State clung to a single-digit lead for the entire second half until a Jeffers jumper gave the home team some breathing room at 57-57 with 2:16 left. The closest the Raiders got was 44-41 with 10:34 left on a follow shot by Gordon.
The Raider loss kept three teams close for the second and third slots from the NJAC North Division in the upcoming conference championship tournament. William Paterson (10-1) locked up the top seed with a 62-59 win over Ramapo (5-6) today. Rutgers-Newark has WPU, Ramapo and New Jersey City (0-10) left on its slate. MSU and Ramapo play each other on the final day of the regular season.
Rutgers-Newark hosts William Paterson in an NJAC doubleheader on Wednesday in The Golden Dome with the women tipping off at 6 p.m. and the men at 8. On Saturday, the Raiders celebrate Senior Day in a league twinbill against Ramapo.
