BOX SCORE
JAMAICA, NY (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com)...Sophomore guard/forward
EBONY CUNNINGHAM (East Orange, NJ/East Orange Campus) scored the most points for a
New Jersey City University women's basketball player in more than 20 years and the Gothic Knights needed every one of her career-best 35 points as NJCU, which led by 18 points in the second half before York College (NY) rallied for a three-point lead late, overcame the Cardinals, 65-64, in a non-conference game on Saturday at the York College Gymnasium.
Cunningham, who scored 22 in the first half, scored her career-high 35 points, shooting 13-of-19 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 7-of-9 from the line, and added 15 rebounds (nine defensive) in just under 40 minutes. After scoring what was a career-best 27 in a loss at New York University on December 9, Cunningham has netted 62 points (31.0) and 27 rebounds over her last two games, posting back-to-back double-doubles.
The 35 points marks her fifth career game of at least 20 points and her eighth double-double. Her scoring total was the most since Monique Hemingway netted a school record 40 vs. then-Kean College on February 23, 1989 and matched Hall-of-Famer Mary Beth Kennedy, who scored 35 against Caldwell College on February 20, 1978, for the second most in single-game school history. Cunningham's 35 were the most scored in a known road game in school history, surpassing the mark of 34 by Anabel Rodriguez at Stevens Institute of Technology on January 21, 2002.
NJCU (1-7), which had played seven teams with a winning record to open the year, was meeting York (4-5) for the first time since January 8, 1993. NJCU leads the all-time series, 6-0 (1975 and 1976 results unknown).
“Ebony really stepped up tonight and that's what she needs to do as our leader,” said fifth-year head coach
ASHANTE TIMOLL. “She was instrumental in our win today.”
Also for NJCU, freshman point guard
LATIFAH JOHNSON (Newark, NJ/University) collected 12 points (3-13 FG, 5-9 FT), four assists and three steals. Junior guard
MIESHA COOKE (Paterson, NJ/Sports Business Academy), freshman forward
LINDIA FISCHER (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) and freshman forward
MAXINE KAMINSKI (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) each had six rebounds and combined for 11 points.
York sophomore center Kadisha Wickham (Brooklyn, NY) led the Cardinals with 24 points (10-19 FG, 4-6 FT) and a game-best 20 rebounds (11 offensive) and four steals in 31 minutes, and did not foul out despite playing much of the second half with four fouls.
Also for York, junior forward Niya Jarvis (Bronx, NY) contributed a double-double of 10 points (5-9 FG) and 11 rebounds, with four steals while junior guard Maimouna Dabo (Bamako, Mali) added 10 points (5-19 FG), nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. Junior guard Elizabeth Padilla (Brooklyn, NY) had eight points. There were a combined 65 turnovers between the schools.
In the first half, NJCU jumped out to an early 8-2 lead and didn't trail in the period. Cunningham scored 22 of NJCU's 34 first half points and hit a three for a 12-5 lead. The Knights would lead by as many as nine in the half before heading to the intermission with an eight-point advantage, 34-26.
In the second half, the NJCU lead stood at five, 39-34, with 15:55 left before the Knights unleashed a 15-2 run over the next 4:32 to stake itself to an 18-point, 54-36 margin after a steal and fast-break basket with 11:23 left by Johnson. She and Cunningham combined for 11 points during the run.
But from there, the Cardinals would rally to score 24 of the next 28 points and after tying the game would claim its first lead of the contest on a Wickham basket with 3:52 remaining. Wickham scored 10 of the 24 points and Dabo scored eight while Cunningham, after scoring her 33rd point with 12:57 remaining, was limited to just two points the remainder of the game, with the all-time single-game scoring record within striking distance.
After Wickham scored on a layup with 7:25 remaining as the Cardinals scored 12 consecutive points, Kaminski and Johnson added baskets to regain a 10-point margin (58-48), before York scored another 12 straight
However, NJCU would bounce back from the Cardinals' comeback bid.
Johnson made the front end of two foul shots to make it a 60-59 deficit with 3:36 left and freshman guard
PRIA DUHANEY (Union, NJ/Orange)—who finished with five points and four steals—put NJCU back on top with 3:14 left off a feed from
Cooke. With 2:58 left, junior guard
Shayna Smith (Queens, NY) finished a layup to put York back on top, 62-61 and
Wickham had an offensive rebound and putback with 2:22 on the board to give the Cardinals their largest lead of the game, 64-61.
With 1:19 left Cunningham hit a jumper off a Johnson assist for her 35th point and the Knights trailed by one, 64-63. After a York turnover, Johnson tied it with the front end of two foul shots with 29 seconds remaining. York missed two shots and Cunningham grabbed a critical defensive rebound with 24 seconds left.
NJCU missed a shot with 18 seconds left, trying to break the tie, before York senior guard Chiquita Greene (Brooklyn, NY) missed a 1-and-1 foul shot with 17 seconds remaining. Finally, Johnson was fouled with nine seconds on the board and made her first attempt, to put NJCU in front, 65-64. The second chance was waived off due to a lane violation, but York, which had time to win it, could not get a quality shot off against the NJCU defense.
NJCU returns to the court on Saturday, December 19 at 2 p.m. against Drew University in Madison, NJ in a non-conference contest.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Team Stat Comparison
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NJCU
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YORK
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Score
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65
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64
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Half-Time Score
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34
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26
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Field Goal Percentage
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.390 (23-59)
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.395 (30-76)
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Three-Point Percentage
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.273 (3-11)
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.000 (0-6)
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Free Throw Percentage
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.593 (16-27)
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.400 (4-10)
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Rebounds (O-D-T)
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14-28-42
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22-28-50
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Assists
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8
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12
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Turnovers
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32
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33
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Blocks
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1
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1
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Steals
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16
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18
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Fouls
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16
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21
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Largest Lead
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18
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3
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Points in the Paint
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34
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54
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Points off Turnovers
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23
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30
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Second Change Points
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12
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25
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Fast Break Points
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Not
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Tracked by York
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Bench Points
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17
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8
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