New Jersey City University Athletics

 

 

JERSEY CITY, NJ…William Paterson University outscored New Jersey City University by 20 in the second half and turned 31 Gothic Knight giveaways into a decisive 29-7 margin in points off turnovers, as WPU defeated NJCU, 60-38, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference women’s basketball game at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.

 

WPU trailed 10-0 out of the gates and opened the game shooting just 1-of-15, before recovering. The Pioneers, which broke the game open in the second half with a 20-3 run, had a 25-2 cushion in bench scoring and had twice the output in the paint, 24-12.

               

With the win, WPU (13-10, 9-7 NJAC) claimed its third consecutive victory and clinched one of six berths in the NJAC tournament. The loss for NJCU (10-12, 5-11 NJAC), its second in a row, eliminated the dark horse Gothic Knights from conference tournament consideration. The Knights will need to win both of their final two regular season games against Rutgers University-Camden and The College of New Jersey on the road, to have a chance to qualify for the ECAC Tournament. NJCU defeated both of those schools at home this year.

               

WPU was led by freshman forward Asia Johnson (Wildwood, NJ/Wildwood) with 19 points (6-9 FG, 7-7 FT), six rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes off the bench. She scored 15 of her game-high 19 in the first half, and registered 11 of WPU’s first 12 points, to help the Pioneers claw back to within 13-12.

               

Also for the Pioneers, sophomore guard Janell Fabor (Clifton, NJ/Paterson Catholic) tallied 17 points (6-14 FG), nine rebounds (eight defensive), and four assists in 36 minutes, despite six turnovers. Junior guard Luci Custis (Roselle, NJ/Abraham Clark) added 11 points (2-10 FG), eight rebounds, five steals and three assists in 30 minutes.

 

TIFFANY BOYD" src="/images/wbasket/2006/2/12/01-28-06%20Tiffany%20Boyd%202.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>Sophomore center TIFFANY BOYD (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) was NJCU’s lone player in double figures, hitting 5-of-10 shots for 11 points, with four rebounds. On senior night at NJCU, four-year power forward MEGAN KABBA (Newark, NJ/Arts) made history by playing in her 98^th career game. She became NJCU’s all-time leader in games played, eclipsing the mark of 97 by Shondelle Browne from 1999-2003. Kabba had seven points (2-10 FG) and seven rebounds

 

Also for NJCU, junior point guard LATRESE McNAIR (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth), this week’s NJAC Player of the Week, had nine points and three steals, but committed nine turnovers. Freshman center KELLY WILSON (Jersey City, NJ/Hudson County Prep) grabbed nine rebounds and had two blocks, while sophomore swingman ARNESE GOODMAN (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) contributed six points, five defensive caroms and four assists.

 

Two threes by McNair gave NJCU a 10-0 cushion at 17:16, and the Pioneers did not score until 15:42. However, WPU clawed back and moved ahead 14-13 on a Fabor jumper at 8:57. A 15-14 lead by NJCU became a 20-15 WPU margin, but the teams remained close, and a Boyd jumper at 2:40 made it 21-21. In a half where NJCU shot 29.2 percent (7-24) and WPU made 29.6 percent (8-27), Fabor’s layup at 2:27 was the final scoring of the first period, and the Pioneers led by two, 23-21, at the break.

 

However, turnovers were the major setback for NJCU in the second half, as the Knights committed 17 in the period versus seven by WPU. After a 28-28 tie at 16:39, WPU scored the next six points and would not trail again. The Pioneers manufactured a 20-3 scoring run off of 11 NJCU turnovers, to move in front 48-31 at 8:41. Custis and sophomore guard Michelle Pellichero (Milltown, NJ/Bishop Ahr) each had key threes during the spurt. WPU’s largest lead was 24, 60-36, with 1:13 remaining.

 

WPU won despite shooting 30.8 percent overall (20-65) and 20.0 from three-point land (3-15). NJCU converted 29.5 percent of its shots (13-44). WPU outrebounded NJCU, 46-37, including 21-10 on the offensive glass.

 

NJCU will return to action on Wednesday, February 15 at 6 p.m. in an NJAC road game at Rutgers-Camden. WPU plays host to Ramapo at the same time.