Box Score GALLOWAY, N.J. – Richard Stockton held off an upset bid by Rutgers University-Newark for a 67-58 New Jersey Athletic Conference win in the RSC Sports Center.
Senior forward
Jade Howard netted 14 of her game-high 23 points in the first half to help the Scarlet Raiders (10-8, NJAC 6-5) take a lead at the break, but the Ospreys (14-4, NJAC 10-1) retained a share of the league lead by surging past the visitors during the opening minutes of the second period.
Sophomore guard
Maria Simmons pace the Raiders with 13 points, six rebounds and game highs of five assists and seven steals while Howard finished with seven rebounds. Senior center
Sharee Gordon hauled down a team-high 10 rebounds and added eight points while junior guard
Arianna Williams totaled eight points, five rebounds and three steals.
Senior forward Lauren Alwan posted a double-double with a team-high 20 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for Stockton while freshman forward Sasha Williams chipped in a dozen points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots as the Ospreys won their 10
th straight NJAC contest. The win completed a regular-season sweep of Rutgers-Newark.
In a first half that featured six ties and eight lead changes, the Raiders closed out the period with a 13-3 run to take a 34-29 lead into the intermission. Rutgers-Newark turned six Osprey turnovers into nine points during the spurt. Stockton did not score during the final five minutes.
Junior guard Lauren Bowler hit a layup with 7:14 left in the half to stake Stockton to a 26-21 lead before the Raiders mounted their rally. A layup by Howard on a feed from Gordon pulled Rutgers-Newark even at 29-29. A steal and 3-point jumper by freshman guard
Nicole Skelly with 31 seconds left gave the Raiders the lead before Simmons made a last second steal and fed Williams for a buzzer-beating layup for Rutgers-Newark's largest lead of the half.
After Howard opened the second-half scoring with a free throw, sophomore guard Taylor Christina tallied seven of her 11 points during a decisive 21-3 Stockton rally which put the Ospreys ahead 50-38 with eight minutes remaining.
A Simmons layup brought the Raiders to within five points with 7:12 left, but that was as close as Rutgers-Newark would get down the stretch.
Rutgers-Newark hosts Montclair State in an NJAC doubleheader in The Golden Dome Arena on Wednesday. The women's game tips off at 6 p.m. with the men to follow at 8.
