New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Rowan University shot 55.6 percent overall, including a blazing 66.7 percent in the second half, as the Profs defeated host New Jersey City University, 76-44, in the Gothic Knights' 2011-12 New Jersey Athletic Conference women's basketball opener on Saturday afternoon on “Coach Charlie Brown Court” at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
 
Rowan (3-4, 1-1 NJAC) shot 18-of-27 from the field in the second half and outscored NJCU 40-20 in the paint in the 32-point win. NJCU (0-4, 0-1 NJAC) did not shoot well, making just 17-of-60 (.283). Rowan, which broke a three-game losing streak with the win, leads the all-time series, 39-9 and has won the last five meetings. Rowan's bench outscored the Gothic Knight reserves, 36-9.
 
In defeat, sophomore power forward ALNISA HERNAIZ (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) scored a team and season-high 12 points (4-9 FG) with three steals.
 
“Defensively, we had a letdown; we allowed Rowan to hit us with a lot of screens, move without us playing the way we need to,” said first-year head coach AMY MULLIGAN, who continues trying to improve a team that won five times a year ago. “They jumped out to a lead that we couldn't recover from. We had a mental lapse and the minute we got down, we didn't know how to get back up. The last couple minutes of the game were when we showed the intensity that we needed to in the 40 minutes of play.”
 
Junior forward MAXINE KAMINSKI (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) had a solid all-around performance for the Gothic Knights scoring nine points, while adding three rebounds and drawing two charges in 24 minutes of play. Junior forward DELIA CHERNEZ (Union City, NJ/Union City) had five rebounds and four assists.
 
“Maxine played a heck of a game,” said Mulligan. “She took two charges and tried to attack the rim for a lot of rebounds.”
 
After coming off a 17-point performance against Staten Island, freshman point guard LUISA MONTALVO (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) was limited to only six-points by the Profs defense, which gained 29 points off 27 NJCU turnovers. 
 
Rowan was led by the trio of junior forward Erin Farrell (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee), senior forward Lauren Creel (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken) and senior forward Lauren Gregg (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood.), who each scored in double figures.
 
Farrell came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points, while shooting 6-7 from the field and a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line with three steals.
 
Creel added 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, four steals and three assists while Gregg finished with 16 points (6-11 FG), rejected five blocks, and added four assists and four steals.
 
Senior guard Alissa Lamey (Northfield, NJ/Mainland Reg.) contributed added nine assists and eight points. Freshman center Kate Matthews (Clark, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson) chipped in nine points and three blocks and senior guard Ashley Waring (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken) had a game-high seven rebounds in 13 minutes.
 
NJCU led twice in the first half and it remained a three-point game, 18-15, with eight minutes remaining in the opening period after a steal and layup by junior guard NIDIA CARMONA (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth).

But Rowan took control from there, unleashing a decisive 18-2 run, while holding the Knights scoreless for a span of nearly seven and a half minutes. Farrell had eight points during the run, Gregg added five and Lamey got the tide turning with a three-pointer with 4:41 left and the lead just five points.
 
Rowan led by 19 at halftime, 36-17, and cruised from there, using its shooting prowess to build as much as a 34-point lead with 3:33 left in the game.
 
Rowan had more assists (23) than turnovers (21) and blocked 12 shots while grabbing 17 steals. The Profs had a 16-4 edge in fast break scoring.
 
“Overall, as a team, we need to grow on this game and each game will be a building block for us,” Mulligan added. “We will go back to the drawing board and work on all the little things that we need to accomplish.”
 
NJCU will return to action on Monday, December 5 when they host John Jay College in a non-conference home game at 6 p.m. Rowan hosts Immaculata on December 5 at the same time.