BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM
NEWARK, NJ (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com)...New Jersey City University took a major step towards qualifying for the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time since the 1988-89 season and the Gothic Knights can thank a pair of rookie point guards who were not even born the last time NJCU reached the post-season event. Freshmen ASHLEY FREEMAN (Paterson, NJ/Passaic Tech) and LATIFAH JOHNSON (Newark, NJ/University) combined for 39 points as NJCU defeated Rutgers-Newark, 62-57, in overtime, in an NJAC North Division game on Saturday night at the Golden Dome.
With the win NJCU, winners of two of its last three games, improves to 6-15 overall, 3-7 in the NJAC, and 2-3 in the NJAC North Division. The top three teams in each division qualify for the six-team NJAC Tournament and NJCU has climbed into sole possession of third place in the NJAC North—ahead of Rutgers-Newark (7-15, 2-8 NJAC) and Ramapo College (8-14, 2-9 NJAC).
If NJCU can defeat Ramapo on February 13, the Knights will clinch an NJAC Tournament berth. NJCU defeated Ramapo in the first meeting of the year, 58-55, in Mahwah, NJ on January 20. Ramapo topped Rutgers-Newark in the only meeting between those schools, 54-43, on January 27.
NJCU defeated Rutgers-Newark for the first time since December 7, 2002 when the Knights downed the Scarlet Raiders, 74-66 at the Golden Dome. While Newark leads the all-time series, 36-21, the Knights snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Raiders.
For NJCU, it was its first overtime game since a double-overtime loss to Farmingdale State College on November 28, 2007, and its first overtime NJAC contest since a win at Ramapo on February 17, 2007. NJCU is 9-8 all-time in overtime.
“It's great to be playing for something at this point in the season,” said fifth-year head coach ASHANTE TIMOLL. “Everybody was important in today's win. Each game is an opportunity to learn about ourselves and grow as a team and we learned that when our back is against the wall, we can succeed. This is a great lesson for this young squad.”
Newark, which has lost eight consecutive games, and has not won since a come-from-behind, 59-52 win at NJCU on January 6, was able to force overtime when freshman guard Kristen Venning (Clifton, NJ/Clifton), who has not played since suffering an injury in a loss to Catholic University on November 22—and did not play in the win over NJCU in January—hit a three-pointer off a feed from sophomore guard Jared Tactuk (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) with four seconds remaining, forcing a 54-54 tie and overtime. Just six seconds earlier, Tactuk grabbed an offensive rebound when junior guard Martyna Ruminska (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) missed the first attempt to tie the game with 10 seconds left.
Freeman led NJCU with a game and career high 21 points, scoring 15 in the first period alone. Freeman shot 8-of-16 overall and 5-of-9 from three-point range, adding seven rebounds, three steals and two assists with only two turnovers in 39 minutes of action.
Johnson played 44 of a possible 45 minutes, netting 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting (2-7 3FG), adding five assists, four steals and only three turnovers.
NJCU, which only committed 15 turnovers while forcing 22 by the Raiders, had a remarkable 28-7 advantage in points off giveaways. NJCU also had a 14-2 margin in fast-break points.
Much of that success can be attributed to NJCU's execution of the full court press at specific times during the game. “The press was what put us in the position to win this game,” Timoll noted. “Pressuring their guards into bad passes was something we needed and the timing was on point. Whenever we saw fatigue we wanted to stay on them.”
Also for NJCU, sophomore guard/forward EBONY CUNNINGHAM (East Orange, NJ/East Orange Campus) had 10 rebounds (seven defensive) and eight points in 32 minutes. Freshman forward LINDIA FISCHER (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) added seven rebounds and three steals in 29 minutes before fouling out.
Senior forward Courtney Vacca (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills), the NJAC's leading rebounder and ninth-ranked scorer, who had 22 points and 20 rebounds in the first meeting this year between the clubs, had another double-double, but was limited to 14 points (6-12 FG) and a game-high 11 rebounds, with five assists and two blocks in 39 minutes. She left the game with an injury with 3:51 left in the extra session.
Ruminska also had a double-double of 11 points (3-13 FG, 2-9 3FG), 10 rebounds (nine defensive) and two steals in just under 40 minutes and Venning tallied 10 points (4-9 FG, 2-5 3FG), five rebounds and four assists with six giveaways in 24 minutes of reserve action in her return to the Raider lineup. Tactuk collected nine points (3-13 FG, 1-5 3FG), five rebounds and four assists in 43 minutes.
NJCU connected on a season-high nine threes (9-26)—the most since making 10 in a loss to William Paterson University on February 16, 2008.
In the first half, the Raiders scored the first six points before Freeman hit a pair of threes and the Knights eventually tied it at 8-8 on a jumper by freshman forward MAXINE KAMINSKI (Kearny, NJ/Kearny), who gave NJCU its largest lead of the period, 12-9, with a layup with 12:11 left. Venning hit a three for a 20-16 Newark edge with 8:34 left in the half. The Raiders moved in front by five before Johnson connected on a triple. Vacca made it 25-21 with a jumper before Freeman sank another trey to make it a one-point game, 25-24. That was key as NJCU only trailed by one, 29-28 at halftime, as Freeman later added a layup with 1:39 left in the period.
Early in the second half, the Raiders gained a three-point lead on a Vacca basket, 33-30. NJCU unleashed a 16-2 run to built an 11-point, 46-35 advantage—its largest lead of the night. A fast-break basket and two foul shots by Johnson put NJCU back in front, 34-33. Cunningham drilled a triple with 15:11 left and Johnson bagged another three-pointer with 14:26 to go. Freshman guard PRIA DUHANEY (Union, NJ/Orange) scored four of her five points overall during the streak, with a jumper with 12:51 left followed by an offensive rebound and putback 54 seconds later. Fischer capped the run with a steal and fast-break basket with 11:36 on the board.
Newark was held without a field goal for a stretch of 8:32 during the spurt, missing five shots while committing nine turnovers.
The Raiders cut the lead to five with 9:11 left on a four-point play (three-pointer and free throw) by sophomore guard Samantha Grippo (Edison, NJ/Edison). But the Knights countered with a steal and fast-break play by Johnson with 7:41 remaining, followed by a Freeman triple with 6:06 on the clock, for a double-digit, 51-41 margin.
The Raiders would force overtime by scoring 13 of the final 16 points in the second half. Cunningham hit two foul shots with 2:42 to go, extending the lead to nine (53-44). Vacca cut it to seven with 2:27 left before Duhaney made the front-end of two free throws with 1:19 remaining, making it 54-46. The Raiders scored eight points down the stretch to tie it. Ruminska hit a three with 1:08 to go and Vacca shaved the deficit to three, 54-51, with 40 seconds to burn. After NJCU turned it over with 18 seconds left and Newark called time out, the hosts tied the game on the Venning three with four seconds remaining after Ruminska missed a chance to tie with 10 seconds left and Tactuk tracked downed the offensive rebound.
But in overtime, NJCU shot 3-of-6 overall and did not commit a turnover, while forcing four Raiders giveaways and scoring four fast-break points. Newark shot 1-of-6 from the field in the extra session. NJCU scored five of its eight overtime points off of turnovers.
Freeman put NJCU in front for good when she drilled her fifth three-pointer with 3:21 remaining off a pass from junior guard MIESHA COOKE (Paterson, NJ/Sports Business Academy), and Cunningham sank a foul shot for a 58-54 lead. Sophomore forward Shatanay McCaskill (Paterson, NJ/Passaic Tech) cut it to one, 58-57, with 2:20 to go with a layup and foul shot, before Johnson picked the pass from her, converting the steal into a fast-break basket and a 60-57 lead with 1:10 left.
Venning missed a three with 53 seconds left and Cunningham grabbed the carom. With 24 seconds left, NJCU put the game away when Cooke stole the ball from Tactuk, leading to a fast-break layup by Johnson, and the final 62-57 margin.
NJCU returns to the court on Monday, February 8 at 6 p.m. with a non-conference game against New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn, NY.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Team Stat Comparison
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NJCU
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Rutgers-Newark
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Score
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62
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57
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Half-Time Score
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28
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29
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Field Goal Percentage
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.371 (23-62)
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.362 (21-58)
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Three-Point Percentage
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.346 (9-26)
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.240 (6-25)
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Free Throw Percentage
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.389 (7-18)
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.563 (9-16)
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Rebounds (O-D-T)
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15-27-42
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14-31-45
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Assists
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11
|
15
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Turnovers
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15
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22
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Blocks
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1
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4
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Steals
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13
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7
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Fouls
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16
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18
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Largest Lead
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11
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6
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Points in the Paint
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22
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28
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Points off Turnovers
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28
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7
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Second Chance Points
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20
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11
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Fast Break Points
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14
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2
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Bench Points
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12
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12
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