New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score EWING, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The College of New Jersey knocked down 10 three pointers and shot 87.5 percent from the foul line as the second-place Lions defeated New Jersey City University, 72-54, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference women's basketball action on January 18 at Packer Hall.
 
TCNJ (11-3, 8-1 NJAC) won for the 10^th time in 11 games this season and shot 10-of-23 from three-point distance (.435) in defeating NJCU (5-11, 2-7 NJAC) for the 10^th consecutive meeting. NJCU shot 1-of-14 (.071) from three-point range.
 
In defeat, sophomore guard KIANA BRIGGS (Paterson, NJ/Passaic County Tech) scored a career-best and game-high 18 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Freshman forward BRIA SMITH (Bayonne, NJ/St. Dominic Academy), a four-time New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week and one-time NJAC Player of the Week, had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting while adding eight rebounds and two blocks.
 
Also for NJCU, junior shooting guard JADE MEDLEY (Queens, NJ/Hudson Catholic) collected eight points. Junior point guard ASHLEY VAZQUEZ (Jersey City, NJ/Marist) had five assists and three steals in a full 40 minutes but was limited to a season-low five points on 2-of-14 shooting (0-7 3FG). It was only the second time this year she has not reached double figures.
 
Three seniors led the way for the host Lions. Kelly Roddy (Belmar, NJ/St. Rose) paced TCNJ with a team-high 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting including 3-of-8 from long range and three assists. Liz West (Monmouth Beach, NJ/Shore Regional) enjoyed a strong performance with 13 points (4-10 FG), making 5-of-5 from the line.
 
Colleen Duffy (Spotswood, NJ/Spotswood) was 3-of-3 from three-point range (3-6 FG) and generated 11 points. Tiffany DeTulio (Colts Neck, NJ/Colts Neck) had a productive afternoon on the floor with nine points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
 
Both teams came out hot, combining to knock down the first eight shots of the game. But the Lions were hotter. Leading 7-6 at 18:11 of the opening period, the Lions unleashed a 15-2 run, gaining a 22-8 margin with 13:44 remaining. A triple by Kelly Coughlin made it 25-10 as the hosts converted nine of its first 12 field goals in the opening seven minutes. Roddy was 4-of-5 with a pair of threes during this stretch and she hit a three with 7:00 on the clock to give the Lions their largest lead of the game, 34-14. Duffy had two threes in the first half and West added nine points in the period.
 
NJCU battled back behind Briggs who scored a dozen in the first half and the Knights held TCNJ without a basket for the next 5:28. A 14-1 run allowed NJCU to pull within seven with 1:54 to go in the half when Vazquez converted a three-point play. TCNJ went to the half ahead by 10 (40-30).
 
NJCU hung tight with a single-digit deficit for much of the second half, trimming the Lion lead to five, 47-42, on a fast break layup by Briggs off a Vazquez swipe with 14:11 to go.
 
But Roddy answered with a three for TCNJ and with 12:35 left, Jessica Goldbach's offense rebound and putback pushed the host's advantage back to double digits (54-44) where it would remain the rest of the contest. TCNJ's largest margin was 20, 72-52, in the final two minutes. TCNJ outscored NJCU in the paint, 32-18 and held a 24-4 margin in bench scoring.
 
NJCU returns to the floor on Wednesday, January 22 at 6 p.m. when it hosts Ramapo College in NJAC action at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center. Ramapo won the initial meeting of the year on November 23 in Mahwah, 43-41.