NEWARK, N.J. (December 9, 2015) - Despite a combined 46 points from senior guard Arianna Williams and junior guard Maria Simmons, the Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team suffered an 83-65 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) defeat at the hands of Kean University Wednesday night in The Golden Dome Arena.

Rutgers-Newark falls to 4-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference, while the Cougars move to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the NJAC.

Williams scored a team-high 24 points, adding six rebounds, four steals and two assists to her line, while Simmons had 22 points, a game-high eight assists and five rebounds. Junior guard Shala Glenn added nine points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Scarlet Raiders, and sophomore guard Nicole Skelly had six points and seven rebounds.

Kean was led by 26 points, six assists, five steals and four rebounds from freshman guard Marajiah Bacon, pacing five Cougars in double figures. Center Ruby Asabor had 19 rebounds, five points and four blocked shots.

Rutgers-Newark shot 36.2 percent from the field (25-for-69), 5-for-16 from the three and converted just 10-of-25 at the line. The Raiders totaled 12 assists and 11 steals.

Kean shot 44.9 percent (31-for-69) from the floor, 30 percent (6-for-20) from deep and 15-for-22 (68.2 percent) at the line, also holding a 53-38 margin on the glass.

The Scarlet Raiders played well early, going on a 9-0 run late in the first quarter to take a two-point lead (15-13) into the second. Williams had four and Simmons added three in the spurt.

Kean responded with a 14-5 run to open the second, taking a 28-19 edge with 3:53 left in the half and eventually going on top by 11 (32-21), but for the second time in as many periods, R-N ended well to get within four (34-30) at the break. Again it was Williams and Simmons leading the way, each hitting three-pointers down the stretch.

The Cougars pushed the lead to 14 midway through the third quarter, and despite their best efforts, Rutgers-Newark could get no closer than 12 the rest of the game as Kean caught fire for 49 second-half points.

Rutgers-Newark will look to get back into the win column Saturday after when it heads to Stockton University for an NJAC showdown.