MADISON, N.J. (December 17, 2016) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team shut down Drew University Saturday afternoon, rolling to a 62-40 win over the Rangers in Baldwin Gymnasium.
 
The win is the third straight for Rutgers-Newark as the Scarlet Raiders end the first half of their season with a record of 4-7. R-N will return to action at Division I and same-city rival New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) December 28.
 
The Scarlet Raiders held Drew to five points in the first quarter and seven points in the fourth, racing out to a 19-5 lead and never looking back in the win.
 
Wow! In the last six quarters Rutgers-Newark has played they have given up 60 total points.
 
"Just a great defensive effort today and we hit some shots," said Head Coach Ashley Cieplicki. "As always we are just trying to better each day and today we definitely made some strides."
 
Rutgers-Newark shot a sparkling 53.1 percent from the floor, connecting on 26-of-49 total field-goal attempts and racking up 14 assists. Newark hit 7-of-18 three-pointers, going 3-for-8 from the line and tallying seven steals.
 
Senior guard Maria Simmons had an efficient 16 points, going 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-5 from deep to lead the Raiders. She added eight rebounds, six assists and one steal to her line. Sophomore guard Faith Ashby had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, and senior guard Shala Glenn had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. Freshman guard Hannah Ashby had 12 points and three rebounds to lead the Scarlet Raider reserves, and freshman guard/forward Louise Ann Borja had seven points, three boards and two assists.
 
R-N totaled 10 second-chance points, led by as many as 25, scored 24 points in the paint and 20 tallies off turnovers, and never trailed in the contest.
 
The Scarlet Raiders dominated the game from the opening tip, rolling to a 14-0 lead to start. Glenn (six) and Ashby scored 10 points in the rally as freshman Autumn Webster and Simmons each tallied a pair.
 
Drew would cut the lead to nine late in the second quarter, but Rutgers-Newark closed the first half on an 8-0 run keyed by three buckets from Hannah Ashby who scored seven of the eight points.
 
A Simmons three-pointer early in the third helped the Raiders open a 40-20 margin, and the lead swelled to 25 points after Faith Ashby canned a foul shot as the Scarlet Raiders cruised the rest of the way.
 
The Rutgers-Newark defense forced 17 Drew (3-7) turnovers as the Rangers shot 33.3 percent from the field, 2-for-21 from three-point range and 6-for-7 at the line.
 
R-N's game against NJIT will be aired on ESPN3 and links will be available to watch the game on www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com.