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R-N NJAC Championship Recap I Championship Highlights I Semifinal Highlights I First Round Highlights

SUNY New Paltz Schedule I Stats

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NEW PALTZ, N.Y. (February 28, 2019) – Tomorrow night, the Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team heads to SUNY New Paltz for the First Round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championships. The Scarlet Raiders' (16-12) showdown with the Hawks (23-4) marks the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and comes on the heels of an incredible run through the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championships, culminating in the program's first NJAC Championship and automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
Rutgers-Newark plays the hosts at 7:30 p.m. with ticket prices set at $7 for adults and $4 for students, children, and seniors.

SEASON RECAP
The Raiders enter this contest riding high following a three-game winning streak that ended with an NJAC Championship. R-N had an important turnaround regular season, finishing above .500 for the first time since 2014-15 while earning a 10-8 record in the notoriously tough NJAC, marking the most league wins for the program since the conference switched to an 18-game format.

In order to get to this first round NCAA matchup, the Scarlet Raiders needed to get past no. 5 Rutgers-Camden at home, no. 1 TCNJ on the road, and a red-hot no. 6 Kean University in overtime in The Golden Dome to secure the program's first NJAC title.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
As has been the case all year, senior guard Faith Ashby is the star of this squad and will be the target of New Paltz's defensive game plan. The 2018-19 NJAC Player of the Year is averaging career-bests of 17.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while leading the NCAA in minutes played and currently ranking second in steals (3.6 per contest). She is coming off a herculean effort of 27 points, eight rebounds, and eight steals in the NJAC Championship.

Even with Faith's heroics, R-N has had such a successful season due to a group of key contributors around the standout senior. Junior Hannah Ashby had a breakout campaign, earning an NJAC honorable mention award while averaging career-highs of 11.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. The veteran guard has also been an iron woman like her sister, ranking fifth in the NCAA in minutes played. Her sharpshooting has lifted the team all year as she leads the squad with 51 made 3-pointers.

Rookie Dorian Capurso has played a significant role as well, leading the team with 9.1 rebounds per game, including 2.6 on the offensive glass, in addition to 7.9 points and 3.3 steals per contest. Classmate Elisha India Cross features in the starting lineup as well with 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while knocking down 29 triples.

Rounding out the typical starting five, junior Comfort Akinbo has made a big leap between this season and last year, averaging career-bests of 7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game all while protecting the rim with 1.9 blocks per contest. In fact, Akinbo ranks first in blocks in the NJAC and 42^nd nationally.

Providing a huge spark off the bench has been junior guard Louise Ann Borja. Although many of her contributions on both ends of the floor are not captured by a box score, Borja did have a big NJAC Tournament as she averaged 7.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game across the three wins.

KEY STATS: Rutgers-Newark ranks second in the NJAC in scoring defense (55.4 ppg) and first in 3-point field goal percentage defense (25.2%)

SUNY New Paltz
The Hawks come into this game on an incredible 19-game winning streak. The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) regular season and postseason champions needed overtime to secure their automatic bid but have not lost at home in the friendly confines of the Hawk Center since December 8.

New Paltz averages 73.7 points per game while holding opponents to just 61.0 for a fantastic 12.7 scoring margin. A good 33.7% shooting as a team from downtown for the season will come up against a very tough Rutgers-Newark defense.

Individually, three Hawks average double-digit scoring led by Rachel Simon with 18.8 points per contest. Lindsay Bettke and Marion Dietz join her with 15.6 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. Philesha Teape is tops in rebounding at 4.9 per game while Bettke has a squad-high 3.2 assists per matchup.