NEWARK, N.J. (January 31, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team was edged by visiting Ramapo College in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) action Wednesday night in The Golden Dome.
 
Rutgers-Newark falls to 7-14 overall and 2-12 in NJAC play, while Ramapo moves to 3-11 in the conference and 6-15 overall. The Scarlet Raiders will look to get back into the win column Saturday at NJAC rival William Paterson University. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. from Wayne, N.J.
 
R-N was led Wednesday by sophomore center Comfort Akinbo who picked up an 11-point, 15-rebound double-double, adding two blocks to her line.
 
The defenses of both teams were the story in the first half as each squad could only muster 18 points in the first 20 minutes. Newark held an 11-4 edge after the first quarter, but Ramapo doubled up the hosts 14-7 to tie the game at intermission.
 
R-N shot 25 percent from the field, while the Roadrunners shot 21.9 percent and the two teams combined for 51 rebounds. Senior Nicole Skelly had six points and five rebounds for the Scarlet Raiders, and Akinbo contributed four points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
 
The Roadrunners came out of the gate strong to start the third quarter, scoring the first six points to open a 24-18 lead. Newark rallied quickly, and back-to-back three-point plays from junior guard Faith Ashby and sophomore guard Hannah Ashby cut the Ramapo edge to one (29-28) with 3:34 left in third.
 
Senior Nikki Sammartino swished a jumper to tie the game at 36-all just 22 ticks into the final stanza, but the see-saw continued as Ramapo scored five in a row to go on top 41-36. Hannah Ashby connected from distance on Newark's next possession, and the two sides went shot-for-shot for most of the quarter.
 
Faith Ashby pulled Rutgers-Newark within two (48-46) with 4:11 remaining, but a 6-0 run for the guests pushed their lead to eight (54-46) with just 2:47 on the clock. The Scarlet Raiders battled, trimming the deficit to four (57-53) at the 37-second mark after an Akinbo three-point play, but it was not enough as Ramapo was able to do enough at the charity stripe down the stretch to earn the win.
 
Rutgers-Newark finished the contest shooting 30.6 percent from the field, 2-for-14 from three and 14-for-27 at the line. The Raiders corralled 43 caroms, racked up five blocks and recorded six steals, dishing out eight assists as a team.
 
Skelly finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, and Hannah Ashby had nine points and seven boards. Faith Ashby had nine points, four steals, three assists and three rebounds, while freshman Ania Harrell had seven points and six rebounds. Sophomore Louise Ann Borja picked up six points and two assists to lead the R-N reserves.
 
Ramapo shot 32.8 percent from the field, 4-for-10 from three and 15-for-19 at the line. The Roadrunners grabbed 51 rebounds, had 10 assists and seven steals, and they were led by forwards Tia Solomon and Jenna Harsh who combined for 24 points and 20 rebounds. Solomon added four assists and two blocks to her line as well.