HACKETTSTOWN, NJ - The Rutgers-Newark women's basketball team opened their 2024-25 campaign on the road at Centenary University this afternoon, falling 64-54 to the Cyclones (1-0).

The Raiders fall to 0-1 to start the season under third-year head coach Stacey Townsend.

It took a minute for the score to break 0-0. Centenary collected a jumper at the 8:50 mark, and the Raiders responded quickly 10 seconds later with a jumper of their own by Jaielyn Alston to score the first set of points for Rutgers-Newark this season. The Raiders led for most of the first quarter until Centenary netted a free throw with seven seconds on the clock to take a 12-11 advantage at the end of the quarter.

The Cyclones pushed the ball using fast break layups and a sprinkle of made free throws to challenge Rutgers-Newark. Not to be deterred, Zoe Francis-Bunkley hit a 3-pointer from the left side with the help of an assist by Nicole Timario. Pushing the ball up the court, the Raiders went into halftime trailing the Cyclones 30 to 28.

Coming out of the break, it seemed like the Cyclones were able to stir up a wind as they surged ahead of Rutgers-Newark for a majority of the quarter. The Raiders were outscored 20 to 15 in the third quarter to head into the final period down by seven, needing a quick momentum change.

The Raiders connected on four field goals in the final quarter - two by Arlenny Medina, as they squeaked out a shooting percentage of 26.7. Both squads pushed out near-identical fourth-quarter stats, which would not assist the Raiders in overcoming the deficit needed to earn the win.

Quanajah Felder shot 6 of 9 (.667) from the floor to lead Rutgers-Newark with 12 points in 21 minutes of play. Francis-Bunkley added nine points, five rebounds, five steals, and three assists. Tracey Ilderis led the team with eight rebounds, in addition to eight points.

Rutgers-Newark shot 38.9 percent from the floor, 14.3 percent from 3-point range, and 50 percent from the charity stripe. They out-rebounded Centenary 38 to 31, while both teams were too turnover friendly at 30 for the Raiders and 27 for the Cyclones.

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