MONTCLAIR, N.J. (December 12, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team fought valiantly but fell to a late fourth quarter rally at New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) rival Montclair State University, 56-52. The Scarlet Raiders move to 6-4 (4-2 NJAC) while the Red Hawks improve to 8-2 (5-1 NJAC).
Rutgers-Newark was led by senior
Faith Ashby who scored 15 points, including 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc, and contributed a game-high six steals. Rookie
Elisha India Cross added 13 points and five rebounds while junior
Comfort Akinbo rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points. Freshman
Dorian Capurso had a squad-best 10 boards and collected five steals.
The Scarlet Raiders return to action on Saturday when they head to non-conference opponent Goucher for a 3 p.m. contest.
R-N got the scoring started a little over 30 seconds in when Cross found
Hannah Ashby who drained a shot from beyond the arc. Akinbo knocked down a jumper a couple minutes later to put the visitors up 5-0.
The Raiders would expand that lead slightly to 10-4 following points from three different players. Still, the Red Hawks responded with a 3-pointer on their next possession and hit on another attempt from beyond the arc as time expired in the first period to send the teams into the second, deadlocked at 10-10.
The second period featured two big swings in momentum as the squads battled back-and-forth. A Cross lay-in had Rutgers-Newark up 14-11 but Montclair State struck back with eight straight points to take its first lead of the game and build a 19-14 advantage.
After weathering that storm it was the Scarlet Raiders' turn to fight back. The visitors rallied with a Cross trifecta and lay-up to knot the score at 19-19. Then
Faith Ashby knocked down a pair of free throws and rookie
Syncere Lambert converted a traditional three-point play to send Newark in front by five points.
A Red Hawks trey on the very next possession cut their deficit to two while a freebie by junior
Louise Ann Borja sent R-N into the locker rooms leading 25-22.
The Raiders continued to build on a strong first half as they opened the third period with another 3-pointer from Cross to start the second half scoring. That shot sparked a 12-0 surge to being the quarter and create the largest advantage by either team of 37-22, capped by a bucket in the paint from Cross with 4:28 on the clock.
MSU managed an 8-2 run to close the third but still found themselves down 39-30 headed into the final period.
The hosts carried that momentum into the last 10 minutes as they scored the first nine points of the fourth to tie that game at 39-39. Akinbo hit 1-of-2 at the charity stripe to briefly retake the lead for Newark but a Red Hawks trifecta put the home team in front for the first time since 2:55 remaining in the second quarter.
A lay-in by
Faith Ashby knotted the contest at 42-42, however Montclair State built a slim 45-42 edge on an and-one basket from Julia Sutton that would not be relinquished.
Hannah Ashby knocked down a freebie that made it 45-42 with 4:11 to play but that would be as close as the visitors would get with the hosts holding on for a 56-52 victory.
