R-N Schedule I Stats

R-C Schedule I Stats

NJAC Bracket

NEWARK, N.J. (February 15, 2019) – Tomorrow the Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team will host Rutgers University-Camden in the First Round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship Tournament.

The fourth-seeded Scarlet Raiders (13-12, 10-8 NJAC) take on the fifth-seeded Scarlet Raptors (15-10, 10-8 NJAC) in The Golden Dome at 7 p.m.

Under the leadership of fourth year head coach Ashley Cieplicki, Rutgers-Newark has had an important turnaround season after finishing below .500 each of the last three campaigns and missing out on postseason play two of those three years. This season, the Raiders went 13-12 and posted a 10-8 mark in league action, the most NJAC wins they've had since the conference switched to an 18-game schedule in 2013-14.

The difference between hosting a first round playoff matchup and heading to Camden on Saturday wound up being the tough 46-42 victory Newark earned at Rowan, Cieplicki's alma mater, last Saturday night which gave them the tiebreaker over R-C.

PLAYERS TO LOOK OUT FOR
Leading the Scarlet Raiders into the playoffs is senior Faith Ashby who has had another tremendous season. She is averaging 17.4 points per game, placing her third in the league, 6.7 rebounds per game (tied for 13th), 3.7 assists per game (second), and 3.6 steals per game (second). In fact, Ashby ranks ninth nationally in steals and is first in minutes played.

Junior Hannah Ashby joins her sister in double-digit scoring with 10.8 points per game, a career-best. Ashby also averages 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per contest. She is the team's 3-point specialist with a squad-high 44 made trifectas this year.

Last but not least, freshman Dorian Capurso has had a great start to her four years in the Brick City. The rookie forward is averaging a team-best 9.3 rebounds per game, good for second in the NJAC, is second with 3.3 steals per contest (fourth in the NJAC), and is third on the squad with 8.1 points per game.

TEAM STRENGTHS
As a unit, Rutgers-Newark has had a fantastic defensive season. The Raiders rank second in the NJAC as they allow just 56.4 points per game, are fourth in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 35.4% from the field, and are second in 3-point defense, keeping foes to just 26.2% from beyond the arc.

R-N has also done a good job taking care of the ball and forcing turnovers as the squad is fourth in the league with a +3.32 turnover margin. The Scarlet Raiders rank fifth in steals with 10.8 per game.

Newark is fifth in the conference with 13.1 offensive rebounds per contest, finding another strength in the ability to crash the glass and create additional offensive opportunities.

RUTGERS-CAMDEN
The Scarlet Raptors had a strong season in their own right, tying for the program's most wins since 2015-16. Rutgers-Camden struggled at times during the year but finished the season strong, winning three of its last four games including a 64-54 victory over third-seeded Montclair State on the road two nights ago.

The Raptors are led by Fatimah Williams who is second in the NJAC with 18.2 points per game. Wykira Johnson-Kelly is not fair behind, tied for fourth, with 15.9 points per contest. Gabby Greene has also provided ample scoring for R-C, averaging 13.6 points per game this season.