EWING, N.J. (February 21, 2019) – The fourth-seeded Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team ended a four-game losing streak against top-seeded TCNJ in spectacular fashion, snapping the Lions seven-game winning streak and upsetting the red-hot hosts 52-45 tonight to advance to the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament Championship game.

Due to another upset on the other side of the bracket with sixth-seeded Kean defeating second-seeded Rowan 77-71 in overtime, Rutgers-Newark will host the NJAC Championship game on Saturday at 7 p.m. for the first time in program history.  

"This team has worked so hard all season and they played their hearts out tonight." said head coach Ashley Cieplicki, "It was incredible to see them put it all together to beat really good TCNJ team in a tough environment. I couldn't be happier but we still have one more game to win!"

The Scarlet Raiders improve to 15-12 while the Lions are now 17-9 and will await a decision from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to see if their season continues.

Rutgers-Newark received a great all-around effort from newly-minted NJAC Player of the Year Faith Ashby who scored 12 points, pulled down eight rebounds, and dished out six assists while contributing two blocks and a steal. Rookie Dorian Capurso came up with a big double-double, adding 12 points and grabbing a team-best 10 boards. Junior Hannah Ashby led the squad in scoring with 14 points, including three 3-pointers.

The excellent Raiders defense was a thorn in the Lions side all night, hounding the top-seed into 16 turnovers while holding them to 30.5% shooting from the field and just 13.0 % (3-of-23) from deep. An Achilles heel for R-N in its last two meetings with TCNJ, the visitors outshot the hosts from the free throw line 71.4% (10-for-14) to 66.7% (6-for-9).

The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair that featured three ties and three lead changes. TCNJ opened the contest with a 5-2 lead but R-N quickly stormed back. Junior Comfort Akinbo began the rally with a lay-up before putting the visitors in front on a pair of free throws. Hannah Ashby then added to that lead and completed the 7-0 run with a 3-pointer off a feed from junior Louise Ann Borja.

The Lions battled back to knot the game at 9-9. Capurso briefly had the Raiders back in front after a steal and fast break lay-in, but the hosts responded with a basket in the paint of their own to end the first even at 11-11.

The squads traded the lead three more times in the early-going of the second period. Jen Bryne began the scoring in the stanza for TCNJ with a traditional three-point play. Then, a Faith Ashby lay-in followed by a lay-up by freshman Elisha India Cross off a Faith Ashby feed had Newark up by the slimmest of margins. Byrne immediately flipped that lead with another basket in the painted area to make it 16-15 in favor of the home team.

From that point, however, the Scarlet Raiders would dominate the quarter. With 4:30 to play before the half, Faith Ashby found her sister Hannah for a trifecta from the right wing that put the visitors back in front. Faith Ashby played facilitator again as a nifty pass created a good luck for Capurso to finish from in close. Finally, it was Faith Ashby finding her sister Hannah yet again as she drained another shot from beyond the arc to cap an 8-0 surge.

The Lions stopped the bleeding briefly with a lay-in by Shannon Devitt but Faith Ashby ended the period with two more buckets to send her side into the break leading 27-18.

Leading 29-22 with 7:14 to go in third, the Scarlet Raiders went on another huge run. Hannah Ashby started the surge with a lay-up before a Capurso steal led to a Borja bucket. A nearly identical play between Cross and Borja resulted in a second straight Borja lay-in to make it 35-22.

Lauren Barlow scored in the paint and Byrne added a freebie sandwiched around a Capurso lay-in for the visitors to briefly cut a little bit into the Lions' deficit.

Faith Ashby responded with a lay-up while absorbing contact, but Byrne answered right back with a basket of her own. Still, it was Faith Ashby who would have the last word in the period as she drilled a deep 3-pointer from the left wing as time expired to make it 42-27 in favor of Rutgers-Newark headed into the final 10 minutes of regulation.

A little over halfway into the fourth, TCNJ had come storming back, slicing the visitors' lead down to just eight with a 9-2 surge.

Capurso responded by drawing a foul and calmly draining a pair of free throws to extend the advantage back to double-digits as the Raiders held a 46-36 lead with 4:30 to play.

The Lions had one last rally in them, using a Byrne triple and lay-in to make it just a four-point contest with 27 ticks remaining. Still, Faith Ashby hit one-of-two before the visitors got the defensive stop they needed, and Hannah Ashby iced the game with a pair from the charity stripe.