NEWARK, N.J. (November 18, 2017) – In the finale of the 2017 John K. Adams Tip-Off Tournament, the Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team defeated Saint Joseph's College-Long Island 71-60 powered by a 23-point game for junior Faith Ashby in The Golden Dome. The Scarlet Raiders took both contests they played during the tourney to improve to 2-1 while the Golden Eagles fall to 1-2.
 
Rutgers-Newark was led by Ashby who poured in her season-best 23 points while sharing team-high honors with nine rebounds and adding an incredible eight steals. Sophomore Hannah Ashby and classmate Autumn Webster joined her in double-digits with 11 points apiece. Hannah Ashby also grabbed nine rebounds and Webster contributed a pair of assists and steals.
 
St. Joe's-LI featured another fantastic performance from Andrea Iavarone who notched her third consecutive double-double and second straight contest with at least 20 rebounds as she poured in a team-high 17 points and pulled down a game-high 25 rebounds.
 
The Scarlet Raiders started strong, opening up a quick 7-2 edge behind two buckets from Faith Ashby. That wouldn't hold however as the Golden Eagles rallied and took their first lead on a trifecta at the 3:20 mark. R-N rallied right back to score the final seven points of the period as Webster drained a 3-pointer to spark the run. Hannah Ashby added a freebie and sophomore Barbara Hairs-Jackson converted a traditional three-point play to put the home side up 15-9.
 
Rutgers-Newark continued that momentum into the second quarter when Faith and Hannah Ashby each netted lay-ups to give their team its first double-figure lead. The Scarlet Raiders would continue to expand that advantage, earning a 36-19 edge when sophomore Comfort Akinbo snatched an offensive rebound and put it back up off the glass with 3:37 remaining in the half. Still, St. Joe's-LI would not go down easily, scoring seven of the next nine points to close the gap to 10 before Webster nailed another jumper to send the home team into the break, up 40-28.
 
In the second half, the two sides battled back and forth for the majority of the third quarter as the visitors fought to within eight points. Still, Rutgers-Newark went on another crucial surge to close the period, pouring on 14 of the last 18 points with baskets coming from five different players to create its largest lead of the game heading into the final period, 61-43.
 
The Golden Eagles rallied one last time to start the fourth quarter, scoring a lay-up and back-to-back 3-pointers to pull within 10 points but that was as close as the visitors would get. A jumper by Faith Ashby with 2:53 remaining made it 71-54 in favor of the home squad before senior Jennifer Gubell drained a pair of trifectas in the waning seconds for the final 71-60 tally.
 
Faith Ashby and sophomore Louise Ann Borja were both named to the 2017 John K. Adams All-Tournament Team while fellow 2-0 side Penn State University-Abington's Shayna Rodriguez and Brittany Keys received nominations. Iavarone got the nod for St. Joe's-LI while Cedar Crest College's Khanaue Robinson rounded out the All-Tournament Team.
 
Rutgers-Newark returns to action on Tuesday when it begins New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) action by hosting NJCU at 6 p.m.