HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (November 15, 2016) – Senior guard Maria Simmons scored her 1,000th career point in the Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball 2016-17 season-opener, but the Scarlet Raiders were defeated by Centenary College, 66-57.
 
Simmons needed eight points to get to 1,000 heading into Tuesday's game and ended up with 14, hitting two three-pointers and adding five assists, five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in a strong all-around performance. The Scarlet Raider veteran is the seventh player in program history with 1,000 points, the sixth being former teammate Arianna Williams who achieved the feat in the last game of the 2015-16 season.
 
Rutgers-Newark (0-1) led the Cyclones 30-25 at the half, but a 17-7 third quarter for the hosts propelled them to victory.
 
R-N shot 30.6 percent from the floor (22-for-72), 38.5 percent from three (10-for-6) and 3-for-8 at the stripe. Centenary (1-0) shot 48.1 percent from the field (25-for-52), 2-for-7 from distance and 14-for-21 (66.7 percent) at the line.
 
Sophomore Faith Ashby led Rutgers-Newark with 19 points and nine rebounds, also picking up four assists and three steals in her debut. Senior Shala Glenn had eight points and five boards, while junior Nikki Sammartino corralled eight rebounds. Freshman Autumn Webster led the Scarlet Raider reserves with six points and three rebounds in 17 minutes.
 
The Scarlet Raiders totaled 14 assists on their 22 made baskets, grabbing 36 rebounds and eight steals. The Cyclones totaled 19 assists and 47 rebounds, and they were led by 20 points and eight rebounds from senior Heather Yaros, and 13 points and 12 boards from senior Mallory George.
 
The Scarlet Raiders started the game strong, racing out to a 9-0 lead behind four points from Glenn and a three-pointer from junior Nicole Skelly. The Cyclones would rally, but a Webster three-pointer at the end of the first quarter helped R-N to an 18-11 margin after one.
 
Rutgers pushed the lead to eight points on several occasions in the second quarter, once on a layup from Simmons and once on an Ashby triple, and eventually took a five-point lead into the break.
 
The Cyclones came back to tie the score at 37 with 1:55 left in the third, closing the period on an 11-0 rally to take a 42-37 edge into the fourth.
 
Skelly's second three-pointer of the game brought the Scarlet Raiders within one (43-42) with 7:51 left, but a three-point play from Yaros with 5:08 remaining sparked a Centenary run and R-N could get no closer than five the rest of the way.