NEWARK, N.J. (January 6, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team dropped a New Jersey Athletic Conference game tonight to visiting William Paterson University in The Golden Dome, 72-56. The Scarlet Raiders move to 6-8 (1-6 NJAC) while the Pioneers go to 7-7 (4-3 NJAC).

Rutgers-Newark was led by sophomore Comfort Akinbo who had a fantastic evening, recording a career-high with 20 points on an incredibly efficient 8-of-12 shooting from the field (66.7%) while swatting six shots and pulling down nine rebounds. Junior Faith Ashby joined her in double figures with 15 points in addition to eight boards and five assists. Sophomore Hannah Ashby rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points and added a team-best seven assists.

Both teams started hot in the first quarter but it was a couple late 3-pointers by the Ashby sisters that had the Scarlet Raiders in front. After four early lead changes and three ties, R-N looked to start pulling away. Leading 13-12, the home team went on an 8-1 surge capped by back-to-back trifectas from Hannah and Faith Ashby. William Paterson closed the period with a triple of its own to cut the deficit to 21-16. Rutgers-Newark was shooting 50.0% from the field and beyond the arc while WPU was hitting at a 43.8% clip.

The Scarlet Raiders continued their momentum into the second period, opening with an 8-0 run led by six points from Akinbo while a Faith Ashby lay-in made it 29-16 at the 7:13 mark. Still, the Pioneers rallied, going on an extended run of their own by scoring the final 18 points of the half to take a 34-29 edge into the break.

Rutgers-Newark got right back in it after the intermission, starting the quarter with six straight points to briefly retake the lead, 35-34. There would be another seven lead changes and five ties in the period as the sides fought for control. Eventually it would be William Paterson who scored the last five points of the quarter to take a 51-46 into the fourth.

In the final 10 minutes the Scarlet Raiders could not rally, coming no closer than six points down the stretch as the Pioneers pulled away. After a Faith Ashby jumper with 7:35 remaining, the visitors went on a 6-1 spurt to open up their largest lead of the game, 61-50. While a jumper by sophomore Autumn Webster and a pair of Akinbo free throws cut the deficit to seven one last time, WPU closed out the contest for a 72-56 win.

Rutgers-Newark returns to action on Wednesday when they hit the road for an NJAC contest at TCNJ with a 6 p.m. start.