New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES: Inside-the-Athlete, KERRI CASSARELLO


JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University drew within striking distance of Ramapo College multiple times throughout the game before the Roadrunners were able to pull away for a 64-51 win in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game on November 20 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on “Coach Charlie Brown Court.” The game was the 2012-13 NJAC opener for both schools and NJCU's home debut.
 
Ramapo (3-0, 1-0 NJAC) had five players score in double figure while NJCU fell to 1-2 (0-1 NJAC). Ramapo leads the all-time series, 34-26.
 
In defeat, NJCU was led by senior shooting guard GABRIELLE RIVERA (Teaneck, NJ/Saint Joseph of the Palisades) who tallied 11 points (4-15 FG) while sophomore point guard ASHLEY VAZQUEZ (Jersey City, NJ/Marist) supplied 10 points and three assists. 
 
Junior forward ALNISA HERNAIZ (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) tallied nine rebounds (eight defensive) and eight points. Senior guard DELIA CHERNEZ (Union City, NJ/Union City) chipped in seven rebounds.
 
Ramapo was led by senior guard Faith Flannery (Keansburg, NJ/Keansburg), who finished with a game-high 13 points, seven rebounds (six defensive) and four assists while junior forward Micaela Moore (Lindenwold, NJ/Lindenwold) booked 11 points (4-9 FG), nine rebounds (eight defensive) and five blocks in 32 minutes. Flannery struggled from the field (2-10 FG) but made 8-of-12 from the line.
 
Also for RCNJ, sophomore guard Kelly Haspel (Lincroft, NJ/Middletown South) finished with 12 points (4-9 FG) and four assists and sophomore guard Kerrie Kosakowski (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) added 11 points (4-9 FG) and four assists. Sophomore forward Alex Milne (Howell, NJ/Howell) contributed 10 points and four rebounds in 22 reserve minutes.
 
“Tonight was a tough loss,” said second-year coach Amy Mulligan. “Defensively, we had a bad stretch which hurt us,” “Overall the effort was there for us, especially with the young kids.”
 
In a hard fought first half between both teams, the Gothic Knights shot 11-of-34 (.324). The Roadrunners hit 40.7 percent of their shots in the period (11-27), including 3-of-5 from three-point range as they built a 29-24 halftime lead. There were seven lead changes and a pair of ties in the first 20 minutes.
 
But after Hernaiz hit an early layup to start the second half and make it a three-point game (29-26), and Vazquez sank a pair of foul shots for a 32-28 deficit (18:09), Ramapo began a push to claim a double-digit lead. Over the next 9:35, NJCU was limited to one field goal—a three by Rivera at the 13:14 mark—and made just 1-of-10 from the floor in the first 11 minutes of the second half. Ramapo capitalized, using a 19-5 run to build a 51-33 advantage and the 18-point cushion with 8:45 to play proved too much to overcome. Milne scored the final five points of the run and had seven of the 19.
 
The Knights stopped the bleeding there but were unable to draw closer than nine points in the final three minutes before falling by 13.
 
After the Thanksgiving holiday, NJCU will return to action on Wednesday, November 28 at 6 p.m. when it travels to Rutgers-Newark for an NJAC game at The Golden Dome in Newark, NJ. Ramapo will host the College of Saint Elizabeth in a non-conference matchup on November 26 at 6 p.m.