NEWARK, N.J. (January 20, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team suffered a hard-fought 52-41 loss at the hands of nationally ranked No. 17 Montclair State University Saturday night in The Golden Dome.
 
Rutgers-Newark falls to 2-9 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and 7-11 overall, while MSU moves to 11-0 in the league play and 16-1 overall. The Scarlet Raiders will hit the road for a pair of conference road games next week – visiting Kean University Wednesday night and Rutgers University-Camden Saturday afternoon.
 
The two defenses were the story in the first quarter as the two teams scored 10 points apiece. Sophomore guard Ania Harrell led the Scarlet Raiders, scoring seven points and securing a trio of rebounds.
 
MSU scored the first 10 tallies of the second quarter to open a 20-10 lead with 4:29 left in the half. Sophomore center Comfort Akinbo ended the Red Hawk run by hitting 1-of-2 at the line as well as a late layup, and Montclair State settled on a 22-13 lead at the break.
 
R-N shot just 22.7 percent from the field, but the Raider defense kept the hosts in the game, forcing nine MSU turnovers and keeping the Red Hawks to just 31.0 percent shooting.
 
Akinbo and Harrell notched baskets to start the second half, bringing Newark within five (22-17), but MSU was able to extend its lead to 15 (43-28) after three.
 
Newark showed toughness in the fourth, battling hard on both ends and generating second chances. A three-point play from sophomore guard Hannah Ashby trimmed the lead to 12 early in the period, and with 4:27 on the click she again brought her team within 12 thanks to a layup.
 
Unfortunately, the Scarlet Raiders were unable to get much closer to the nationally-ranked Red Hawks, eventually succumbing by the 52-41 final.
 
The Scarlet Raiders shot 29.6 percent from the field and 8-for-14 at the line, grabbing 34 rebounds and racking up nine steals. R-N totaled 30 points in the paint and picked up a quintet of assists.
 
Faith Ashby had a team-high 15 points, adding four steals, four rebounds and two assists to her line. Harrell tallied 11 points and five rebounds, and Hannah Ashby had eight points, four boards and two steals. Senior forward Nicole Skelly grabbed 11 rebounds.
 
The Rutgers-Newark defense held Montclair State to 33.9 percent shooting for the game as the Red Hawks went 6-for-15 from distance and 6-for-9 at the line. Senior forward Taylor Harmon led MSU with 17 points, and sophomore forward Alex McKinnon totaled 16 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Katie Sire had six points, 11 rebounds, five steals and four assists.

Scarlet Raider fans are encouraged to follow @scarletraiders and @RN_WBB on twitter for the latest all season long!