JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University missed its first 10 shots of the night and with reigning New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Week and sophomore Bria Smith (Bayonne, NJ/St. Dominic Academy) in early foul trouble, NJCU could never recover as the Gothic Knights fell to Rutgers University-Newark, 63-51, in NJAC women's basketball action on November 25 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
 
After a 3-0 start to the season, NJCU (3-2) dropped back-to-back NJAC games to fall to 0-2 in the league. Rutgers-Newark, playing its first conference game after a West Coast trip to Washington State, is 2-2 (1-0 NJAC) and snapped a two-game skid.
 NJCU shot 25.9 percent in the first half (7-27) but was below 20 percent for much of the period, falling behind early 13-3 and 26-12 before RUN took a 37-20, 17-point differential to the locker room.
 
Meanwhile the Raiders were red-hot from everywhere in the first 20 minutes, shooting 60.9 percent on 14-of-23 shooting, 6-of-8 from the line (.750) and 3-of-6 from three-point distance.
 
RUN led by as many as 24 points midway through the second half (48-24, 12:59). NJCU trailed by double figures for most of the remainder of the game. The Knights did make a late rally bid, drawing within eight (59-51) when sophomore Jazz Randall (Parsippany, NJ/West Orange) hit a three with 44 seconds left at the end of an 11-1 run, before RUN iced it from the line.
 
Smith, coming off a career-high matching 29 points against Kean on November 22, picked up a foul just four seconds into the game and played just six minutes in the first half (two points, one rebound, two fouls) before scoring 15 of her team-high 17 points in the second half. She added nine rebounds and three steals in 26 minutes, shooting 5-of-11 overall and 7-of-8 from the line. She has now converted 20 of her last 22 foul shots.
 
Junior guard Kiana Briggs (Paterson, NJ/ Passaic County Tech) collected nine points, four steals and three assists in 29 minutes of play. Freshman forward Sharaunda Fiedtkou (West Orange, NJ/Bayonne) scored all eight of her points in the first half coming off the bench. Freshman Shekinah Suber (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) provided a nice spark off the bench with six points (3-6 FG) and four steals in 18 minutes.
 
Leading the Scarlet Raiders was Jade Howard (Sicklerville, NJ/St. Joseph's (Hammonton)) who despite playing the final 16 minutes with four fouls avoided a fifth and chalked up a game-high  19 points on 8-for-9 shooting. She added eight rebounds, four steals and three assists in 35 minutes.
 
Sophomore guard Maria Simmons (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) had 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and six steals. Also contributing for the Scarlet Raiders was junior guard Arianna Williams (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) with 12 points (4-8 FG, 2-5 3FG) and senior center Sharee Gordon (Newark, NJ/University) who rejected three shots to go along with her seven rebounds before fouling out.
 
Howard was a perfect 5-for-5 in the first half when she scored 12 points in a full 20 minutes despite playing with two fouls.
 
By the time NJCU scored its first field goal with 11:07 remaining in the first half, RUN already held a 13-3 advantage. After NJCU managed to keep the game within nine points (21-12) on a Fiedtkou layup, the Raiders pushed the lead to 17 with a 9-1 run for a 30-13 margin and a three by Williams with 3:09 left gave the visitors their largest lead of the first half, 35-17. Simmons' basket with 12:59 left in the second half staked the Raiders to its 48-24 cushion.
 
Rutgers-Newark finished the night shooting 58.5 percent overall (24-41) which was important because the Raiders coughed up 31 turnovers; NJCU had a 28-12 margin in points off giveaways.
 
OF NOTE:

• 66^th meeting. Rutgers-Newark leads the all-time series, 45-21 and has won the last nine meetings.
• Bria Smith reached double figures in scoring for the 19^th time for her career and fourth time this season.
• Junior captain Deseree Johnson made her return to the lineup after missing three games with an injury. She did not score and did not attempt a shot in nine minutes.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
In the first game after the Thanksgiving break, the Knights travel to Wayne, NJ to take on rival William Paterson University in an NJAC contest on Wednesday, December 3 at 6 p.m. WPU (4-1, 2-0 NJAC) faces Stevens Institute of Technology on Monday, December 1 at 7:00 p.m. It will be the 66^th meeting between the two clubs. WP leads the series, 56-9, and has won 24 consecutive meetings since the 2001-02 season.