UNION, N.J. (January 23, 2019) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team led wire-to-wire against New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) foe Kean University as the squad took a 52-41 road victory. The Scarlet Raiders improve to 11-7 (8-3 NJAC) while the Cougars fall to 8-10 (5-6 NJAC).

Rutgers-Newark featured a trio of double-digit scorers, led by senior Faith Ashby who had 15 points in addition to seven rebounds and team-bests of five assists and five steals. Junior Hannah Ashby added 11 points and seven boards while rookie Elisha India Cross chipped in 10 points. Freshman Dorian Capurso led the squad with 10 caroms and junior Comfort Akinbo racked up a game-high five rejections.

The Raiders return to league play with a 6 p.m. matchup against NJCU in The Golden Dome on Saturday.

Rutgers-Newark opened the game with excellent defense and solid offense to take an early 8-0 lead. The visitors held Kean scoreless until the 2:59 mark in the period.

On the offensive end, Cross was on fire, hitting two buckets in the paint and a trifecta while Hannah Ashby added a free throw.

The Cougars did rally, going on a 6-2 spurt to cut their early deficit in half, before the Raiders capped the quarter with a pair of Akinbo freebies to make it 12-6.

R-N significantly expanded its advantage in the second. Kean was able to get within three points with 5:33 remaining before the half, but that was as close as the hosts would get.

The Scarlet Raiders reeled off nine consecutive points from there, including a traditional three-point play by Hannah Ashby and a shot from beyond the arc from Cross to extend the lead to 12.

After a basket by the Cougars, junior Louise Ann Borja capped the half on a lay-in following a steal and pass from Faith Ashby to send the visitors into the break, up 27-15.

Rutgers-Newark completely pulled away in the third period. Newark began the second half just like the first, scoring the opening eight points that featured baskets from three different players. Faith Ashby capped the surge with lay-up that extended the visitors lead to 20 points.

Kean managed to cut that down to 13 points with 2:26 remaining in the quarter. Still, the Raiders earned the last five points of the third to take a commanding 44-26 advantage into the final 10 minutes.

The Cougars rallied furiously in the fourth, but R-N held off its conference foe. The hosts managed to slim the Raiders' lead from 18 to begin the period to just five with 1:36 on the clock.

Newark would not break, however, and responded with a huge 3-pointer from Hannah Ashby on the next possession before getting a stop and adding three free throws in the final minute to earn a 52-41 win.