NEWARK, N.J. – Rutgers University-Newark tips off its season on Monday in The Golden Dome Arena with the potential to surprise its opponents in the New Jersey Athletic Conference race.
The Scarlet Raiders, who are coming off of an uncharacteristic 10-15 campaign, have nine veterans on their 10-woman roster under interim head coach
Bill Zasowski. If Rutgers-Newark can stay healthy with the short numbers, it has the potential to do better than the seventh-place finish that league head coaches have figured in the annual NJAC Preseason Poll released today.
2014-15 NJAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll (PDF)
Two-time first team All-NJAC forward
Jade Howard returns along with 2013-14 starters
Shala Glenn and
Arianna Williams. Sophomore guard
Maria Simmons, a 3-time NJAC Rookie of the Week in 2012-13, rejoins the team after sitting out last season, to give the Raiders four returning starters.
Senior center
Sharee Gordon, who will be joining the team on Monday after leading the Scarlet Raider volleyball team to the ECAC Metro/Upstate Championship semifinals as a second team All-NJAC middle blocker, and sophomore center
Jasmine Lombard will give the team a pair of physical players in the paint.
Returning veterans
Adayshia McKinnon,
Bena Nyang'Au, and
Sarah Schwartz join the Raiders' lone rookie
Tia Taylor on a short but talented roster.
Howard earned first team All-ECAC Metro laurels last season after averaging 14.3 points and 9.8 rebounds.
Williams and Glenn became the starting backcourt when veteran senior point guard
ShaQuanna Marshall suffered a career-ending knee injury in January. The duo combined for 103 assists and 67 steals. Williams started all 25 games, averaging 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds, while Glenn started the final 21 contests, averaging 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds.
In 2012-13, Simmons averaged 7.9 points while leading the 19-10 Raiders with 99 assists and 90 steals. She ranked in third in the NJAC in assists and fourth in steals as a true freshman.
Gordon averaged 6.2 points and 4.7 rebounds while blocking 19 shots last season while Lombard played in every game, averaging 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds.
The schedule will be daunting starting with Baruch that went 21-8 last season on its way to a City University of New York Athletic Conference title and an NCAA D-III Championship berth.
The Rutgers-Newark women and men fly to the state of Washington next week to play perennial NCAA contenders Whitworth and Whitman – both of which are ranked in preseason polls. On Thursday in Spokane, the Raiders play Whitworth which is rated 24 in D3hoops.com preseason top 25. On Saturday in Walla Walla, Rutgers-Newark tangles with Whitman which was ranked seventh in the same poll.
The top six teams make the NJAC Championship Tournament in the 10-team league. Two-time defending champion Montclair State is the unanimous favorite in the preseason coaches' poll followed by The College of New Jersey, Kean, William Paterson, Richard Stockton and Ramapo. After the Raiders, Rowan, dark horse New Jersey City and Rutgers University-Camden round out the order.
