NEWARK, N.J. (November 13, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team defeated visiting Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham in their regular season and home opener tonight in The Golden Dome, 60-47.

The Scarlet Raiders improve to 1-0 while the Devils fall to 1-1.

Rutgers-Newark had a suffocating defense all night that forced 29 turnovers and held FDU-Florham to 31.7% shooting from the field and an 8.3% from beyond the arc.

The Raiders were led by a fantastic performance from rookie Dorian Capurso in her collegiate debut, recording a triple-double on 14 points, 21 rebounds, and 12 steals. Senior Faith Ashby poured in a game-high 23 points and added five steals, five boards, and three assists. Junior Hannah Ashby rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.

R-N returns to action this weekend at the FDU-Florham Tournament with a game at 7 p.m. on Saturday against Purchase College.

The Scarlet Raiders got off to a slow start and were trailing 4-0 after nearly three minutes of play but Faith Ashby got the offense started with a trifecta to cut the early deficit to one.

FDU built an 8-3 lead with 5:49 remaining in the first quarter, however that would be the visitors largest advantage of the night.

Newark went on a 13-2 surge behind eight points from Faith Ashby that put the hosts in front 16-10.

The hosts maintained that edge and were up 20-14 after the opening 10 minutes.

The Devils scored the first basket of the second period but the Raiders took control from there, embarking on a 12-0 run over the next six minutes to create an insurmountable advantage.

Capurso capped the scoring for the first half as she hit a free throw to send the home team into the break ahead 35-19.

FDU came out hot after halftime, roaring back with a 10-0 surge to start the second half. Still, Rutgers-Newark weathered the storm and closed out the third quarter on an 11-3 spurt, including six points from Capurso, that created a 46-32 lead headed into the final 10 minutes.

In the fourth period, the Devils rallied one more time, cutting their deficit to 50-42 with 4:20 remaining in the contest.

The Scarlet Raiders were up to the task once again, going on a 10-2 run that featured 2-for-2 trips to the charity stripe by Faith Ashby, Hannah Ashby, and junior Comfort Akinbo and put the game out of reach.