New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES: Inside-the-Athlete feature, SHAINA NEGRON

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University junior forward ALNISA HERNAIZ (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) grabbed 18 rebounds and scored 13 points but the Gothic Knights shot just 6-of-23 from the foul line and 1-of-18 from three-point range as NJCU fell to the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 64-45, in a non-conference women's basketball game on December 19 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on 'Coach Charlie Brown Court.'
 
USMMA improves to 6-4 and the win marks career victory No. 300 for fifth-year Mariners head coach Matt Dempsey, in stops at Kings Point (46 wins) and Green Mountain College where he had 254 wins between the men's and women's programs. NJCU (3-9) drops their fourth straight. It was only the second meeting between the schools.
 
In defeat, Hernaiz moved within one rebound of 500 for her career, sliding into 14^th place in school history by generating her 12^th career double-double and third this season, with 12 of her 18 boards coming on the defensive glass. She shot 6-of-10 from the field and added three steals in 37 minutes.
 
Hernaiz, who registered double digits in rebounds for the 22^nd time in her career and fifth time this year, led NJCU in rebounding in a game for the 28^th time in her career and reached double digits in scoring for the 20^th time overall. The 18 rebounds were just two shy of the career best 20 she grabbed on December 3 at Centenary College. Her final rebound came with 5:46 left in the contest.
 
Also in defeat for NJCU, rookie guard KIANA BRIGGS (Paterson, NJ/Passaic County Tech) added eight points, five steals and four assists in 32 minutes while sophomore guard JADE MEDLEY (Queens, NY/Hudson Catholic) scored eight points in 21 minutes. No other NJCU player netted more than five points.
 
Overall, NJCU shot 29.7 percent for the game (19-of-64)— improving to 39.3 percent in the second period (11-28) after making just 8-of-36 in the first 20 minutes (.222). The Gothic Knights shot just .261 at the line. USMMA shot 41.3 percent overall (19-46).
 
“We can't come out and play the way we did,” said second-year coach Amy Mulligan. “We can't shoot free throws like this [and expect to win].”
 
“I do think Alnisa showed a lot of heart and hustle and came up big for us,” Mulligan said, complimenting the play of her starting power forward. “That's the type of play we need, not just from her but the entire team.”
 
USMMA was led by senior guard Tamara Kaileh (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) with 24 points (7-10 FG), seven rebounds (six defensive) and three steals. Kaileh shot 10-of-16 from the free throw line and Kings Point made 22  free throws on the night (22-32, .688).
 
Sophomore forward Rebecca Resor (Bay St. Louis, MS/Bay) supplied 13 rebounds (10 defensive) and nine points while sophomore guard Demi VanDerWal tallied 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting, including two threes.  Senior guard Roshenda Josephs (Culpeper, VA/Highland) had a near double-double with nine points, eight steals and three assists.
 
Kaileh, VanDerWal, Resor and Josephs combined to score 53 of USMMA's 64 total point output.
 
In a largely competitive first half early on, both teams traded baskets and NJCU led 16-15 on a jumper with 9:12 remaining. But NJCU was outscored 12-1 the rest of the period and fell behind by 10 points at the break, 27-17. NJCU missed its final 13 shots of the first half and made just 1-of-4 from the line in that late stretch while committing five turnovers. Resor and Kaileh combined to score 18 in the first half for the visitors. 
 
NJCU cut the deficit to eight early in the second half before USMMA scored 12 consecutive points to build its largest lead of the game, 41-21, with 16:31 left on a VanDerWal three. USMMA hit three straight back-breaking triples during the run. With 18:11 left, Josephs heaved up a desperation three from 30 feet straight away that banked home as the shot clock expired and VanDerWal knocked down another trey 35 seconds later.
 
USMMA maintained a double digit advantage throughout the remainder of the contest, sans a three by Medley with 10:15 to go that made it a nine-point contest, and the Mariners pushed the margin back to 19 points twice in the final 61 seconds, including the final margin.
 
NJCU will be idle over the holidays, returning to action after a 16-day break on Saturday, January 5 at 2 p.m. when it hosts William Paterson University in a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest.