MADISON, N.J. (November 15, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team stayed close for the majority of its season opener but eventually fell to host Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham, 84-70. The Scarlet Raiders are 0-1 while the Devils move to 1-0.
R-N featured a quartet of players with double-figure scoring led by a standout effort from junior
Faith Ashby who nearly recorded a triple-double. Ashby scored 15 points in addition to securing squad-highs of nine assists, nine rebounds, and four steals. Sophomore
Barbara Hairs-Jackson poured in a team-best 17 points on 8-of-14 (57.1%) shooting and collected eight caroms while senior
Nicole Skelly came off the bench to contribute 16 points and a share of team-best honors with nine boards. Rounding out the double-digit scorers was sophomore
Louise Ann Borja who scored a career-high 14 points and snatched a pair of steals.
In the first quarter, the visitors raced out to a 7-0 lead behind a high-pressing defense, offensive rebounding, and strong finishing around the rim. Still, the home side managed to close the gap and trailed just 9-8 with 4:45 to play in the period. That sparked another surge by the Scarlet Raiders as three different players scored and Skelly bookended the stretch with a pair of lay-ups as they reopened up a 17-10 advantage. FDU fought back again but still trailed 19-14 after the first.
The Devils continued their momentum from late in the first quarter, rallying to score eight consecutive points and take their first lead of the night 22-19. Hairs-Jackson stopped the bleeding with a jumper off an assist from Skelly and Ashby knocked down a mid-range shot of her own to take the lead back but it would be a short-lived advantage. This time FDU had an 8-1 surge that gave way to its largest edge of the half 30-24. Still, a free throw from sophomore
Comfort Akinbo and another jumper by Skelly saw the visitors trailing by only one possession, 30-27, at the break.
The home team looked to pull away in the beginning of the second half as they opened the third on a 17-4 run. With 2:17 on the clock, the visitors still trailed 53-40 however they would rally. A lay-up by Hairs-Jackson off a feed from Ashby followed by five free throws from two players cut into the deficit as Rutgers-Newark headed into the final quarter down by single digits, 56-47.
The Scarlet Raiders started the fourth strong, netting a lay-in from Ashby and a jumper by Hairs-Jackson that quickly sliced the deficit to five. Trailing 62-54, R-N a pair of Hairs-Jackson buckets, an Ashby freebie, and a steal-and-score from Ann Borja suddenly had the visitors down by only one. The Scarlet Raiders remained close over the next few minutes and a jumper by Ashby kept the score within one as they trailed 68-67. Unfortunately, the Devils took over the game from there. The home team finished the contest on a 16-3 surge to take an 84-70 victory.
Rutgers-Newark looks to rebound quickly when it hosts the John K. Adams Tip-Off Classic beginning Friday evening with a matchup against Cedar Crest College at 5:30 p.m. in The Golden Dome.
