Game Program

NEWARK, N.J. (November 23, 2015) –Junior guard Maria Simmons and senior guard Arianna Williams each tallied double-doubles to help push the Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team to an 86-65 win over visiting New Jersey City University in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) opener for both schools Tuesday night in The Golden Dome Arena.

With the win, the Scarlet Raiders even their overall record at 2-2 (1-1 NJAC), while the Gothic Knights drop to 1-3 overall (0-1 NJAC).

Simmons finished with a career-high 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting, dishing out 12 assists, grabbing seven rebounds and recording four steals. Williams had 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 11 rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Shala Glenn was solid for the Raiders, going for 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while sophomore forward Nikki Sammartino scored a career-best 11 to go with seven boards, two blocks and two thefts.
 
R-N shot a season-best 50.7 percent (34-for-67) from the field, an unheard of 60 percent (9-for-15) from long range and 9-for-12 (75 percent) at the line. The Scarlet Raiders had 22 assists and 20 turnovers, tallying 10 steals and finishing plus-16 on the glass (46-30).
 
Rutgers-Newark raced out to an 11-2 lead early and led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter (23-11), but the Gothic Knights came back to get within two heading into the second.
 
The Gothic Knights tied the game at 23 to start quarter number two, and took a brief lead at 27-26, but Rutgers-Newark went on a big-time 18-6 run to close the first half to take a 44-33 margin into intermission. Simmons poured in eight points, Williams scored the final five as Sammartino, Glenn and sophomore guard Nicole Skelly all scored in the run.
 
NJCU chipped away early in the third quarter, getting within four with 5:31 on the clock, but the Raiders slammed the door, going back up 10 to start the fourth (61-51), and ripping off 10 of the game's next 12 to take a 71-53 lead and seal the win. Simmons scored six in the run and Glenn added four as the Scarlet Raiders never looked back.
 
A Simmons free throw gave Rutgers-Newark its largest lead of the night at 86-56, before a 9-0 NJCU run to close made the final 86-65 in favor of the Scarlet Raiders.
 
The Gothic Knights shot 41.5 percent from the floor (27-for-65), 33.3 percent (4-for-12) from deep and 7-for-17 (41.2 percent) at the line, dishing out 13 assists and committing 20 turnovers. Sophomore Mikeera Brown led three NJCU players in double figures with a team-high 16, also grabbing a team-best seven rebounds to go with four assists and two blocked shots.
 
Rutgers-Newark will return to the hardwood looking to make it two in a row with a non-conference game in The Golden Dome Arena Monday night against Purchase College. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and fans unable to make the trip can tune in live at www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com/watch.