New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score Game Program/Notes: Gothic Knight Insights feature, ZIYADAH WILLIAMS
Postgame Interviews: ASHLEY VAZQUEZ and JADE MEDLEY

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Junior point guard ASHLEY VAZQUEZ (Jersey City, NJ/Marist) scored 16 of her career-high 23 points in the second half as the New Jersey City University women's basketball team swept a season series from Rowan University for the first time in 25 years, downing the Profs, 61-57, in New Jersey Athletic Conference action on January 25 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
NJCU (6-12, 3-8 NJAC) equaled last season's win total and remained alive for the final NJAC Tournament berth by defeating Rowan (4-14, 3-8 NJAC) twice in the same season for the first time since 1988-89. NJCU was tied twice but never trailed in the contest.
 
"It's nice," said Vazquez. "We don't usually get a lot of sweeps—we usually split a lot of series. It's nice to come in and finish up a second game after we blew them out the first game."
 
"I didn't know [about the career high] until after the game was over but I just took the shots that were available at the time and tried to make the best choices."
 
Vazquez, who notched her third career 20-point scoring effort—one point better than her sophomore-year best of 22—knocked down 4-of-5 three-pointers, 5-of-6 free throws and 7-of-13 total shots in generating 23 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 37 minutes. Meanwhile, with the game on the line in the final minute, Vazquez was there to help NJCU seal it.
 
After Rowan tied the game at 56-56 on a three by sophomore guard Kaitlin Schullstrom (Colts Neck, NJ/Colts Neck) with 1:31 to play, the game remained tied in the final 30 seconds. Vazquez lost possession to Rowan junior guard Bria Hill (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City) but fought for the loose ball along her offensive baseline, stole it back from Hill and fed a wide-open pass to junior guard JADE MEDLEY (Queens, NJ/Hudson Catholic) on the left side of the rim for an easy go-ahead layup with 16.0 seconds left.
 
After a timeout, Rowan went to the line with 9.1 seconds left. Schullstrom missed the first (rimmed out), made the second to shave the deficit to one (58-57) and called timeout down one. Rowan was forced to foul junior guard KIANA BRIGGS (Paterson, NJ/Passaic County Tech), NJCU's second best free throw shooter, with 6.2 seconds remaining. NJCU, which was 8-of-10 from the line to that point, saw Briggs miss both and she was called for a foul with 5.0 left.  That set up the final dramatic seconds.
 
Rowan rookie guard Alex Raring (Linwood, NJ/Mainland Regional) stepped to the line with a chance to tie the game and put the visitors in front. But both opportunities rolled off the rim, NJCU got a team rebound, and with 4.7 seconds left, Vazquez knocked down the front end of two free throws for her 23^rd point. Her second shot missed, but an alert Medley boxed out under the left side of the rim, grabbed the board on the left block and sealed the victory with under three seconds remaining after finishing an uncontested layup.
 
"I was really happy about that," said Vazquez about Medley's significant plays. "It was the same situation as last year with Rowan where I made two free throws to win that game. [Today] Jade came up big for us twice in the last minute of the game. That was all just skill on her part and wanting to put the ball back in the basket."
 
"I knew I had to get the rebound," recalled Medley. "I boxed out and I made the layup. I can jump high but I really boxed out today. I tried to avoid getting fouls and just boxed out as much as I could. I'm a shooter but my job today was to lock down their best scorer." 
 
Medley only shot 5-of-15 overall (2-7 3FG), but her late-game contributions were pivotal,  as she produced her sixth double-digit scoring effort of the season and 15^th of her career, finished with 12 points, six rebounds (four offensive) and two steals.
 
Meanwhile, 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, was a rebound shy of her eighth double-double, settling for 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting, along with nine boards (seven defensive) and three steals in 27 minutes while playing with four fouls.
 
Rowan received a team-best 17 points from sophomore center Kate Matthews (Clark, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson) who added a game-high 11 rebounds (nine defensive) for her conference-leading eighth double-double of the year. She shot 5-of-8 (7-13 FT) and had two blocks. Schullstrom finished with 12 points (4-10 FG< 3-7="" 3fg)="" and="" six="" rebounds="" and="">Raring added eight points and six boards.
 
NJCU vaulted out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes of the game. The 10-point margin included three field goals from Smith, a three-pointer by Medley and a three-point play by sophomore forward DESEREE JOHNSON (Red Bank, NJ/Monmouth Regional). Rowan cut the deficit to three on three occasions (14-11, 7-0 run; 19-16 and 21-18) before back-to-back jumpers by Briggs off the bench made it 25-18. A jumper with 3:44 on the clock by Vazquez pushed the lead back to nine (29-20) and an offensive rebound and powerful move to the rim by Smith kept the cushion at nine (31-22) with 1:17 left in the opening period. A three-point play by Kate Matthews in the final minute made it a five-point game (31-26) at the break.
 
NJCU shot 43.8 percent in the opening period (14-32) while Rowan made just nine buckets (9-23, .391) but kept itself in the game by connecting on 7-of-8 foul shots in the first 20 minutes. 
 
The two schools traded threes coming out of the break but Smith, who shot 5-of-7 to start the game, picked up her fourth foul at the 17:31 mark. Despite missing its star newcomer, NJCU was able to build upon its lead. At 16:33 JADE MEDLEY saved an offensive rebound falling out of bounds right to Vazquez who drilled a three from the left wing for 41-30 lead. A minute later, Vazquez picked off a steal, was fouled on a coast-to-coast chance, and made two foul shots for a 43-32 edge. The two 11-point margins were NJCU's largest of the day.
 
Rowan made a charge. With 13:15 to go, Bria Hill sank a floater in the lane and converted a three-point play to make it a four-point game (43-39) and Matthews beat a defender to the rim to make it a 43-41 game. NJCU answered as Medley knocked down a three (10:55) and then Vazquez buried a step back three on the left wing off a Briggs drive  for her 20th point at 10:37. Two foul shots by senior center ALNISA HERNAIZ (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) increased the margin to 10, 51-41.
 
But Rowan stormed back again and cut it to 51-48 on a fast break basket by freshman guard Valerie Garofalo (Ventnor, NJ/Holy Spirit) with under eight minutes left. Another Garofalo score on a fast break pass from Hill shaved the deficit to 51-50. Smith made a strong move to the hole and converted a three-point play (54-50) but Matthews hit a turn-around jumper at 3:45 and while she missed a subsequent free throw on an and-one chance, 35 seconds later she sank the first of two foul shots to make it a 54-53 game. Free throw shooting hurt Rowan in the loss as the guests shot 14-of-28 (.500).
 
A driving layup by Vazquez with 2:46 to play made it 56-53 and matched her career high. After Rowan tied the game at 56-56, Hill missed two fouls shots with 40.6 to play and a chance to put the Profs in front before Smith seized a rebound.
 
On the historic season sweep, Medley summed up the win by saying: "It feels amazing. I've been here for three years and Rowan has been one of the best teams in the past. I think today was a great accomplishment for our history and our team."
 
NJCU heads to Newark on Wednesday, January 29 at 6 p.m. when it faces Rutgers-Newark in NJAC action.