Box Score

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Sophomore guard Maria Simmons led a first-half onslaught by Rutgers University-Newark which launched a 63-51 win over New Jersey City in the John J. Moore Center.
 
In the Scarlet Raiders' New Jersey Athletic Conference opener, the inside-outside combination of Simmons and senior forward Jade Howard exploited the Gothic Knights on both ends of the floor.  Simmons finished with 13 points, six rebounds and game highs of six assists and six steals while Howard racked up a game-high 19 points with a team-high eight rebounds and four steals.
 
Simmons rang up seven points, six assists, four steals and four rebounds to lead the Raiders to a 37-20 halftime edge.  She dropped in all four of her free throw attempts as the Raiders scorched the nets from the field and the free throw line.  With the help of Simmons' assists, Rutgers-Newark connected on 60.9% (14-23) of its shots from the floor in the first 20 minutes – including three for six accuracy from beyond the arc.  Junior guard Arianna Williams knocked down two of three shots from long range on her way to eight first-half points while Howard bulled inside for a dozen points.
 
Williams tallied a dozen points with four rebounds and two assists on the night while senior center Sharee Gordon chipped in six points, seven rebounds and a game-high three blocked shots before drawing her fifth personal foul.
 
Sophomore forward Bria Smith paced the Gothic Knights with 17 points, a game-high nine rebounds and three steals while junior guard Kiana Briggs added nine points, four steals and three assists.  Freshman forward Sharaunda Fiedtkou came off the bench for eight points, four rebounds and a pair of steals for NJCU while freshman guard Shekinah Suber notched six points and four steals.
 
The Gothic Knights (3-2, NJAC 0-2) led just once in the game when Briggs made the second of two free throws a minute into the contest.  The Raiders ran off to a 13-3 lead and built steadily to a 35-17 advantage on a 3-point jumper by Williams with 3:09 left in the period.
 
Any hopes of a second-half comeback by New Jersey City were crushed when Rutgers-Newark opened the second half with an 11-4 run capped by a Simmons layup with 12:59 left to push the Raider lead to 24 points at 48-24.
 
The Gothic Knights trimmed their deficit to 59-51 on a 3-point jumper by sophomore guard Jazz Randall with 44 seconds left, but sophomore guard Shala Glenn and Williams each sank a pair of free throws in the final 26 seconds to provide the final score.
 
The Raiders won despite yielding 28 points on 31 turnovers as New Jersey City piled up 18 steals.
 
Rutgers-Newark (2-2, NJAC 1-0), which snapped a two-game losing streak with the win, breaks for Thanksgiving before traveling to Purchase College on Monday for a 7 p.m. non-conference contest.