NEWARK, N.J. (December 9, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team suffered a 66-53 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) defeat at the hands of visiting Rutgers University-Camden Saturday night in The Golden Dome.
 
Rutgers-Newark falls to 1-4 in the NJAC and 5-5 overall, while Rutgers-Camden improves to 6-4 overall and 3-2 in league play. The Scarlet Raiders will look to get back into the win column Friday night when they welcome cross-river-rival New York University to The Golden Dome for a non-conference showdown.
 
The Scarlet Raiders struggled out of the gate as the Scarlet Raptors outscored the hosts 16-9 in the first quarter and 16-9 in the second to take a 32-18 margin at intermission.
 
Sophomore guard Hannah Ashby hit an early three-pointer to give Rutgers-Newark a 3-2 lead, but Rutgers-Camden responded to score 12 of the next 15 points to open a 14-6 margin with a shade under two minutes to play in the first quarter.
 
Freshman guard Ania Harrell scored 3:36 into the second to slice the Camden lead to four (18-14), but the Scarlet Raptors closed the first on a 14-4 run to take a 14-point advantage into the break.
 
Hannah Ashby led Rutgers-Newark with nine points on just three shots, going a perfect 3-for-3 from long range.
 
The Scarlet Raiders started the third strong, scoring eight of the first 10 points to get within eight (34-26) and force a Camden timeout. Junior guard Faith Ashby had two steals in the run as Newark upped its defensive intensity.
 
The two rivals went shot-for-shot over the next few minutes, but Camden went on an 8-2 run to close the third with a 49-34 lead.
 
A layup from sophomore Comfort Akinbo and two foul shots from senior Nicole Skelly trimmed the Raptor advantage to single digits (51-42) with 6:26 to play. The Scarlet Raiders continued to battle, but were unable to get closer than nine down the stretch.
 
The Scarlet Raiders shot 17-for-55 from the field (30.9 percent), 3-for-15 from long range and 16-for-27 at the line, totaling 11 steals and four blocked shots as a team. Newark ended the contest with a 40-37 margin on the glass, scored 20 points off 22 R-C turnovers and tallied 24 points in the paint.
 
R-N was led by 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from Hannah Ashby. Ashby added four rebounds and two steals to her line. Akinbo finished with 10 points on six shots, two blocks and three boards, while Faith Ashby had five points, five rebounds, six steals and two assists. Freshman forward Barbara Hairs-Jackson totaled seven points and six boards, and sophomore Louise Ann Borja totaled seven points and five rebounds.
 
Five Scarlet Raptors were in double figures, led by a double-double from senior Michelle Obasi (10 points, 12 rebounds, four steals, two assist and two blocks). R-C scored 34 points in the paint and totaled 11 assists and 11 steals, shooting 47.3 percent (26-for-55) from the field, 4-for-13 from long range and 10-for-20 at the charity stripe.
 
Friday's game against NYU is slated for a 7 p.m. tip from The Golden Dome.