Box Score GALLOWAY, N.J. – Rutgers University-Newark senior forward
Jade Howard tallied game highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds, but second-seeded Stockton ousted the Scarlet Raiders from the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament with a 72-61 win in the Stockton Athletic Center.
Howard, who recorded her fourth consecutive double-double and her 10
th double-double of the season, added four steals while sophomore guard
Maria Simmons totaled 15 points, a game-high five steals, three assists and three rebounds before fouling out of the game.
Senior center
Sharee Gordon came off the bench to connect on five of seven shots on her way to 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. But the trio of Howard, Simons and Gordon accounted for all but 10 of Rutgers-Newark's scoring against a deep and talented Stockton team.
Senior forward Sara Farrell hit three treys on her way to a team high 20 points for the Ospreys while freshman center Sasha Williams worked inside for a double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Senior guard Alex Nardoza tallied 14 points and six rebounds while senior forward Lauren Alwan contributed eight points, seven rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Lauren Bowler came off the bench for nine points and five rebounds while junior guard Jazmin Palma dished out a game-high five assists while making four steals.
The sixth-seeded Scarlet Raiders (14-13) battled on even terms with the Ospreys, but an icy one-for-12 night from 3-point range derailed the upset bid.
Stockton (21-5) advances to Saturday's league championship game at top-seeded Montclair State (25-1), a 58-53 winner over The College of New Jersey in tonight's other semifinal matchup. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. in the Panzer Athletic Center.
Rutgers-Newark climbed out of an early 12-3 hole to make it a see-saw game that featured seven ties and five lead changes.
A follow shot and an inside jumper by Howard on consecutive Raider possessions gave the Raiders a 51-45 lead with 12:37 remaining.
But Farrell poured in two 3-point jumpers plus a pair of free throws and Williams tallied seven points during a decisive 21-3 answering run which vaulted Stockton into a commanding 66-54 with 3:12 remaining. Rutgers-Newark got no closer than nine points in the final minute of play as the Ospreys completed a sweep of the three games between the teams this season.
Howard exploded for 17 points and Simmons notched nine in the first half to bring the Raiders all the way back from the early 9-point deficit. A pair of free throws by Simmons knotted the score at 34-34 in the final minute before a layup by Nardoza with 32 seconds on the clock gave Stockton the lead at halftime.
Her 25 points carried Howard over the 1,400-point plateau for her career. Named to the All-NJAC first team earlier in the day, she now has registered 1,408 points and ranks third on the Scarlet Raiders' all-time scoring list.
Rutgers-Newark must now wait until Monday to find out of its 14-13 record is good enough to gain a berth in the ECAC Metro Championship Tournament. The bracket will be announced Monday afternoon with the playoff beginning on a week from tonight.
