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Opening Round Preview

GALLOWAY, N.J. (February 18, 2017) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament with a 65-62 win at third-seeded Stockton University Saturday afternoon.
 
The sixth-seeded Scarlet Raiders will take on Kean University with a berth in the conference title game on the line Wednesday night in Harwood Arena at 7 p.m.
 
With the game tied at 56 after two made free throws from sophomore guard Faith Ashby, freshman guard Autumn Webster hit a huge three-pointer to put Rutgers-Newark (11-15) on top 59-56 with 3:21 remaining.
 
After empty possessions for each side, Stockton trimmed the lead to one with 1:02 left, but a driving layup from senior guard Maria Simmons pushed the Newark lead back to three points (61-58) with 34 ticks on the clock.
 
The Ospreys came back down and cut the lead to one, but Simmons went 4-for-4 down the stretch at the foul line to seal the thrilling triumph.
 
Ashby scored 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting to lead the Scarlet Raiders, adding four rebounds, three steals and one assist to her line. The one assist coming on Webster's massive three-pointer. Simmons had 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals as Rutgers-Newark won for the fifth time in seven games.
 
R-N shot 39.3 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from three and 13-for-17 at the line (10-for-11 in the second half). The difference in the game may have been the turnover battle as Rutgers-Newark forced 18 Osprey mishaps, while only committing eight of their own. The Raiders were plus-11 in points off turnovers (15-4) and tallied 32 points in the paint.
 
Rutgers-Newark took an early 5-2 lead when Ashby drilled a three-pointer, with Stockton taking the upper hand behind junior guard Lea Mendolla who hit back-to-back three's midway through the first.
 
Four-straight points from Simmons allowed Newark to regain the lead with 1:12 left in the first quarter, but the Ospreys tallied the final four points of the period for a 20-17 lead after one.
 
A see-saw first half continued through the second quarter, with the Ospreys holding a 32-30 at the break. Ashby and Simmons each had 13 points at intermission, with senior guard Shala Glenn adding four.
 
Late in the third quarter, Stockton built a six-point lead at 48-42 thanks to another Mendolla three-pointer. Newark responded, getting five-straight points from Ashby and trailing by just two (49-47) heading into the fourth.
 
Glenn and Webster combined for 14 points and five rebounds, while junior forward Nikki Sammartino had two points and four boards.
 
Stockton had three players in double figures, shooting 47.2 percent from the field, 23.5 percent from three and 8-for-10 at the line. The Ospreys held a 40-28 margin on the glass and scored 10 second-chance points.
 
Rutgers-Newark and Kean met twice in the regular season with the Cougars taking both meetings. The most recent matchup was a battle in The Golden Dome but Kean was able to come away with a 77-71 win.
 
Fans should check www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com Tuesday for a complete preview of the semifinal between Rutgers-Newark and Kean.