NEWARK, N.J. (February 16, 2019) – Hosting its first New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship playoff game since the 2012-13 season, the fourth-seeded Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team pulled away late from the fifth-seeded Rutgers University-Camden to take a 65-47 victory in the First Round of the tournament. The Scarlet Raiders improve to 14-12 while the Scarlet Raptors conclude their 2018-19 campaign at 15-11.

Rutgers-Newark was led by the Ashby sisters who combined for 39 points. Senior Faith Ashby poured in a game-high 20 points, going 8-for-9 from the line, while adding four rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. Junior Hannah Ashby scored 19 big points on 5-7 shooting from the field, 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. She also had eight boards and two steals. Junior Comfort Akinbo contributed a double-double with 10 points and a game-best 10 rebounds. Classmate Louise Ann Borja provided a spark off the bench with eight points, three dimes, and three caroms.

The Raiders will now head to Ewing for the NJAC Semifinals against top-seeded TCNJ on Wednesday with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.

The teams started off slowly in the first as the squads combined for 15 turnovers, demonstrating some postseason jitters. Akinbo started the scoring with a lay-in off a nice feed from rookie Dorian Capurso on the first possession but it would be another seven minutes before the hosts got another basket.

Rutgers-Camden took an early lead on a trifecta by Johnson-Kelly with 7:40 on the clock. Newark finally reclaimed its advantage on a coast-to-coast Borja lay-up at the 2:39 mark.

That bucket sparked a flurry of scoring the final minutes of the first as the Raiders took a 9-3 lead on two more lay-ins from Borja and Akinbo plus an Akibo freebie. Still, the Raptors fought right back with a pair of 3-pointers from Johnson-Kelly and Gabby Greene to even the contest at 9-9.

The second quarter was much faster-paced, featuring six lead changes and three ties. Camden tallied the first five points of the period before R-N responded with the next six points to take a slim 15-14 lead following a trey by Hannah Ashby and a Faith Ashby basket.

Shane Holmes immediately sent the visitors back in front and sparked a quick 7-0 surge that made it 21-15 in favor of the Raptors.

Borja, Elisha India Cross, and Faith Ashby brought the Raiders right back with three lay-ups to knot the game at 21-21 before a pair of Ashby free throws briefly had the home team up by two.

R-C tied it up shortly thereafter and it looked like the squads would be deadlocked headed into the break, but R-N turned a 25-25 into a three-point lead at halftime on a Hannah Ashby conversion from beyond the arc and jumper to send the Scarlet Raiders into the locker rooms leading 30-27.

The third period continued the same trend as the second with five more lead changes and three ties.

The Raptors took the lead on Johnson-Kelly triple with 6:03 remaining in the quarter, however, that would be the visitors' final advantage at 37-35.

The Scarlet Raiders closed the quarter on a huge 14-0 run. Capurso began the surge with a jumper before Faith Ashby had the hosts back on top with a traditional three-point play. Hannah Ashby added to the lead with a shot from downtown while four more points from Faith Ashby had the crowd on its feet and Newark ahead by double-figures. Capurso capped the run with a pair of freebies to send her squad into the fourth leading 49-37.

The Raiders only added to their advantage from there, opening the fourth on a 14-4 spurt that included points from five different players and had the lead balloon to 22 points.