New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Freshman point guard LUISA MONTALVO (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) scored a game-high 17 points and put New Jersey City University ahead by three with 4:13 to play, before the College of Staten Island ran off 10 of the next 12 points and held off another Gothic Knight rally, 50-47, in a non-conference women's basketball game on Tuesday night on “Coach Charlie Brown Court” at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
 
NJCU (0-3) has lost its three games this season by a combined 12 points, including two contests by just three points. Staten Island, which won its fourth straight in the series, and evened the 'Bayonne Bridge Series' 7-7 all-time, improved to 3-2.
 
“The game was a hard fought game,” said first-year head coach AMY MULLIGAN. “The last few minutes of the game were a back and forth battle, where we made too many mistakes,” “We had our opportunities but didn't capitalize.”
 
NJCU, which led by eight points late in the first half, shot just 21.1 percent in the second half (8-38) and 26.0% from the field overall (19-73).
 
Montalvo scored 10 of her 17 in the second half on 7-of-19 overall, and added game highs of five assists and three steals while playing a full 40 minutes running the Gothic Knight attack.
 
Junior forward MAXINE KAMINSKI (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) contributed eight points and seven rebounds, while drawing three charges in 33 minutes. Junior shooting guard GABRIELLE RIVERA (Teaneck, NJ/Saint Joseph of the Palisades) grabbed seven rebounds and matched a game-high when she chipped in a career-best five assists.
 
NJCU outrebounded CSI 56-44 and four Gothic Knights—Kaminski, Rivera, sophomore forward ALNISA HERNAIZ (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) and junior forward KERRI CASSARELLO (Keansburg, NJ/Keansburg)—contributed seven rebounds apiece.
 
On the defensive end, junior forward DELIA CHERNEZ (Union City, NJ/Union City) got the start and contributed with six rebounds and two steals while scrambling for a number of loose balls for the Gothic Knights.
 
“DELIA CHERNEZ's defense was something that helped us stay in the game,” said Mulligan.
 
CSI was carried to victory by a solid all-around team effort. Junior forward Katelyn Hepworth (Staten Island, NY/ Notre Dame) notched a double-double, scoring a team-high 14 points (5-21 and adding 14 rebounds (10 defensive). Senior guard Nicole Quattrocchi (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame) contributed 10 points (4-6 FG) and seven rebounds off the bench while shooting (2-4) from behind the arc.
 
Freshman guard Danielle Kartalis (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame) had eight points (4-5 FG) and five rebounds off the bench and sophomore guard Rachel Rosado (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) finished with eight points in 16 minutes and a pair of key free throws in the final seconds. Sophomore guard Jackie Tocco (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) gave out five assists. Staten Island shot 32.3% from the field (20-62) and made five three pointers (5-18, 27.8%).
 
Despite Staten Island gaining a 9-2 lead in the opening five minutes, NJCU was able to whittle the lead down and eventually claim a 15-13 lead on a Montalvo three at the end of a 13-4 scoring advantage. The Knights pushed the lead to eight after a pair of jumpers by junior guard NIDIA CARMONA (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) and led 27-19 with 1:10 left in the half on a Montalvo bucket before a three by Quattrocchi and a jumper at the buzzer made it a three-point game, 27-24 at the break. 

Carmona finished with six of NJCU's 11 steals, marking her eighth career game with at least five steals.
  
In a second half highlighted by several extended scoring droughts by both squads, NJCU's four-point lead with 15:53 left was the largest until the final minutes. At 13:06 Montalvo turned a steal into a fast break layup and Rosado answered with a jumper at the 12:35 mark to keep the deficit at one, 37-36.
 
Neither side scored again until Hernaiz sank a pair of foul shots with 6:58 remaining. Kartalis put back an offensive rebound for two points at 5:19, to end a stretch of 7:16 without a field goal for either school and Montalvo snapped NJCU's bucketless span at 8:53 when she converted a jumper with 4:13 to go, making the Gothic Knight lead three, 41-38.
 
During the extended offensive lapse, the two schools combined to miss 24 consecutive shots (16 NJCU, eight CSI), and the Knights went 0-for-17 from the field overall before Montalvo's basket, including five instances where offensive rebounds led to second and third opportunities, to no avail.
 
While NJCU finished the game making just three of its final 22 shots, the Knights still held the lead thanks to its rebounding.
 
But Staten Island scored eight consecutive points to gain a 46-41 lead with 1:52 to play. Kartalis hit a jumper before a free throw by Hepworth tied it and Kartalis put the visitors ahead to stay with a jumper at the 2:50 mark. Hepworth sank a three to cap the run.
 
Montalvo tried to keep the Knights alive. Her steal with 1:09 left led to a foul and she sank two from the line before Quattrocchi kept the lead at five, 48-43, with 60 seconds left.
 
NJCU was able to whittle the lead to one as Montalvo scored a layup with 48 seconds on the clock and a missed free throw in a 1-and-1 chance for CSI gave the Knights back possession before Chernez sank a jumper off a Montalvo feed with 20 seconds left, cutting the deficit to 48-47.
 
NJCU had to foul and Staten Island missed yet another 1-and-1 chance. But after NJCU grabbed the rebound, a long pass upcourt could not be handled, leading to a turnover with 10 seconds to play. The Knights took too much time to foul again before sending Staten Island back to the line with 2.8 seconds remaining.
 
The Dolphins were just 3-of-10 from the line to that point before Rosado hit both in a key moment. A full court inbounds pass by NJCU sailed too far in front of a sprinting Montalvo and the Knights were unable to attempt a game-tying shot. Despite the loss, Mulligan felt that this outcome could be beneficial to her team in the long run.
 
“This is a big learning experience for us and as we go into the next game we have to come out and be mentally smarter and tougher with the basketball. The girls fought hard and now we have to push forward.”
 
NJCU will return to action on Saturday, December 3 when they open its 13-game New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule with a 2 p.m. home contest against Rowan University. CSI hosts York College (NY) in a CUNYAC contest on December 1.