New Jersey City University Athletics

BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES

JERSEY CITY, NJ…Junior forward Courtney Vacca (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills), and senior guards Bimpe Fageyinbo (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills) and Younger Kehleay (Eatontown, NJ/Monmouth Regional) combined for 29 of Rutgers-Newark's 34 second half points as the Scarlet Raiders used a 17-2 run to break open a 23-23 halftime deficit and clinched the final berth in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament, defeating New Jersey City University, 57-44, in an NJAC North Division game on Charlie Brown Court at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center. 

Newark (11-14, 5-9 NJAC), which had lost four straight, earns the third and final seed in the NJAC North Division. The reward for the Scarlet Raiders—a date with two-time defending NJAC champion Kean University in Union on Saturday, February 21 at 1 p.m. NJCU's 39^th season of women's basketball concludes with a mark of 5-20 and 2-11 NJAC. The Raiders lead the all-time series, 35-20, and have won the last 11 meetings.

With NJCU leading 26-25 early in the second half, Newark used a 17-2 run over a span of 8:19, and limited the Gothic Knights to one field goal in the first 10:54 of the second period.

In defeat, freshman point guard LASHAWN OVERTON (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder) netted a game-high 19 points (6-17 FG; 4-9 3FG), 16 of them coming in the first half. Overton scored eight of NJCU's first 13 points. She also grabbed eight rebounds in 38 minutes of action. Overton finished the season with 327 points and a 14.9 scoring average; it is the highest scoring average by an NJCU rookie since 1984-85, when Monique Hemingway averaged 16.7.

Vacca led the Raiders with 15 points and nine rebounds, shooting 7-8 from the foul line and 4-7 from the floor in 37 minutes. Fageyinbo scored 14 points and brought down five rebounds and four steals in 37 minutes of action. Kehleay had 12 points. Freshman guard Jared Tactuk (Wayne, NJ/ Wayne Valley) finished with seven points, six rebounds and four assists.

For NJCU, freshman guard EBONY CUNNINGHAM (East Orange, NJ/East Orange Campus) dropped in 12 points and brought down seven rebounds and four steals. Freshman forward PATIENCE BROWN (Plainfield, NJ/Union County Vo. Tech) had 11 points (5-8 FG) and five rebounds in 37 minutes as she, Overton and Cunningham combined for 42 of NJCU's 44 points.

Junior forward SHAYLA DANIELS (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) grabbed 13 rebounds to finish the year with 242 caroms.

The intense first half saw the teams trading baskets. The Raiders largest lead was five on a three-point bucket by Tactuk, but it was short-lived, as Overton immediately answered by draining a shot from behind the arc on the opposite end. She continued to dominate, hitting another three-pointer at 5:59 for an 18-16 lead. After Newark went ahead 22-18 at 2:17, her three with 38 seconds left forced a 23-23 deadlock at the break.

The second half proved to be the difference as Newark shot 10-of-20 in the period (.500) and NJCU was just 5-of-23 (.217). NJCU's final lead was with 19:05 remaining on a pair of Cunningham free throws before the 17-2 run that made it 42-28 with 11:32 remaining. After Brown had a jumper at 14:10, the Knights did not have another basket until Brown converted a layup with 9:03 remaining—a span of 5:07. Kehleay had nine points during the run, including a pair of three-pointers.

After a Rutgers-Newark jumper by junior forward Renee Edwards (Montville, NJ/West Milford) increased the score to 50-42 junior guard CAROLINA GARCIA (Plainfield, NJ/Franklin) was fouled and buried two free throws to bring the deficit back to six, 50-44, but the Knights would not score again as the Raiders netted the final seven points of the game to secure their playoff lives. With 1:50 remaining, Cunningham and Edwards battled for a rebound and a jump ball was called. The possession arrow favored the Scarlet Raiders and Edwards hit another jumper, before Newark padded the margin with five free throws.