JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | After two prior postponements, New Jersey City University and William Paterson University finally got their New Jersey Athletic Conference women's basketball game in on February 9 and for NJCU, it was well worth the wait. The Gothic Knights used record-setting three-point shooting to bounce back from a 13-point first half deficit and outscored the Pioneers 51-32 in the second half, en route to stunning William Paterson for the first time in 13 years, 84-69, at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
 
NJCU (9-13, 3-12 NJAC) set single-game school records for three-point percentage for both a full contest and one period, shooting 60.0 percent on 9-of-15 from long range and a staggering 5-of-7 in the second half when the Knights hit 71.4 percent from deep.
 
NJCU claimed its first win over the Pioneers (12-10, 8-7 NJAC) since a 78-67 decision in Wayne on January 26, 2002 and the decision snapped a 25-game winning streak in the series for WP. It was the first home win for NJCU against the Pioneers since a 67-53 win in Jersey City on November 24, 2001.
 
Additionally, the win was the second most lopsided margin of victory for NJCU in the history of the 67-game series. NJCU was two points shy of matching a 17-point win over then-William Paterson College, 53-36, on December 3, 1986 in Jersey City.
 
Four Gothic Knights scored in double figures with junior forward Deseree Johnson (Red Bank, NJ/Monmouth Regional) having the game of her life. The two-year co-captain notched a career-high 21 points, smothering the Pioneers with 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 three-point shooting while adding nine rebounds (seven defensive), three assists and 3-of-4 foul shooting in 37 minutes. She netted 16 points in the second half when she shot 5-of-7 overall and 3-of-4 from deep.
 
Meanwhile, senior guard Jade Medley (Queens, NY/Hudson Catholic) knocked down half of her shots from the field (5-10 FG) and three-point range (3-6), finishing with 16 points and seven rebounds, with nine in the second half.
 
Sophomore power forward Bria Smith (Bayonne, NJ/St. Dominic Academy) was her consistently dominant self, finishing with 15 points (6-11 FG), seven rebounds and four blocks in 25 minutes, scoring 11 in the second half. It was the fourth time this year she's had at least four blocks in a game.
 
Also for the Knights, junior guard Kiana Briggs (Paterson, NJ/Passaic County Tech) collected 13 points, shooting 6-of-6 from the line while hitting her only three-point try, to add to her five assists. Sophomore point guard Jazz Randall (Parsippany, NJ/West Orange) dished four assists to go with six points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
 

The loss could prove costly for the Pioneers who remain fourth in the NJAC standings, but just one game ahead of Kean University, Rutgers-Newark and The College of New Jersey, all at 7-8, for the final three berths in the conference tournament, with three games to play.
 
Six players had at least four fouls for the Pioneers and three fouled out. Junior guard Brittany Harden (Millville, NJ/Sacred Heart) finished with a double-double for WP, tallying 16 points (5-14 FG, 2-2 FG), 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals in 35 minutes before fouling out.
 
Freshman guard Julie Rovito (Ridgefield Park, NJ/Ridgefield Park) netted 20 points, knocking down 7-of-11 shots, including 5-of-7 three-point attempts in 29 minutes; but she committed seven of William Paterson's 22 turnovers.
 
Freshman guard Jackie Rodriguez (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) had 13 points and junior forward Mary Haines (Ridgefield Park, NJ/Ridgefield Park) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds (seven offensive) and had five assists in 26 reserve minutes before also fouling out.
 
WP hit a season-high 11 three-pointers—knocking down 11-of-25 from long range (.440) but it wasn't enough against a record-setting performance. The 11 threes were nearly double the Pioneers' previous season high of six and the most since hitting 15 in a game (15-32, .469) against Rowan on January 8, 2011.
 
William Paterson hit six threes in the first half and had several chances to pull away with its distance shooting while Smith, who played just seven minutes in the first half with two fouls, was on the bench. Rovito (12:48) and Harden (12:22) hit threes on consecutive trips down the floor to pull out to a 22-14 lead and back-to-back jumpers by junior guard Sara Luberto (Midland Park, NJ/Midland Park) made it 26-15 with 7:41 to play. A fast break basket by junior forward Alex Milne (Howell, NJ/Howell) after WP broke the press extended the lead to 13 (30-17) with 5:35 to play and the Pioneers were up 32-19 with 5:10 to go.
 
The Knights would not quit, using an 11-2 run to pull within one—34-33—with 20 seconds to go in the half when freshman guard Jesenia Montalvo (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) hit a running scoop shot that set off a wild end to the period. The Pioneers drove down the floor, NJCU blocked their shot but turned the ball over with two seconds left and Rodriguez hit a three at the buzzer for a 37-33 WP lead.

The Pioneers had the better of the three-point shooting in the first half, connecting on 60 percent (6-10), versus 50.0 percent (4-8) for NJCU. 
 In the second half the clubs traded threes early and the Pioneers led by four (44-40) with 16:17 to go before momentum swung wildly in favor of the Knights. After a jumper by Smith, NJCU gained its first lead of the night when Johnson drilled a three from the corner (45-44). Haines briefly put WP back in front before freshman guard Irelynn Donovan (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) nailed a shot from the right arc and the Knights, up 48-46, were off and running.
 
A steal and fast break by Smith pushed the lead to 50-46 and Medley made a nifty cut to the rim off a penetrate and dish play by Montalvo for a 54-46 leading with 12:15 left as NJCU capped a 14-2 run. The Pioneers never got within six the rest of the night.
 
After Harden made it a 59-53 game with 9:43 to play, an 8-0 spurt put the game away for NJCU. Johnson scored on an offensive rebound and after two foul shots by Briggs, buried a triple with 7:20 left to elevate the margin to 13 (66-53). Medley knocked down a triple with 6:29 remaining for a 70-56 cushion and the Knights cruised to victory from there. Johnson's fast break bucket with 2:44 to go made it a 15-point differential—one of four times NJCU led by that score in the win.
 
QUOTES:
NJCU head coach Amy Mulligan (fourth season)
On the significance of the win: "This was a tremendous win for our program. We came out and just played as a team for 40 minutes. We had contributions from everyone today in some way and this is a game where our confidence grew as we played."
 
On the overall play: "Offensively we worked to get the best shots and defensively we made stops when we needed to. We stayed poised and took care of the ball and our composure was there tonight. Jade [Medley] got us off to a great start to keep us in striking distance. Des [Johnson] played so well on both sides of the floor and found her zone. Bria [Smith] was aggressive and really forced the defense to collapse which opened up a lot of gaps."
 

On what changed in the second half: "At halftime we talked about helping more on defense from the weak side and making jump stops for kick outs, and today we nailed those shots. A big key for us was to stay strong and aggressive and boxing out."
 
Deseree Johnson (junior forward)
 
On the effort of her team: "I feel like we played really smart basketball and we were looking for each other. I also feel like our defense, help, and communication was really up there today. We were one on the floor. "
 
On what was discussed at halftime that changed the game: "Coach said that we played a good half and that we have to build up from it. She also said that we have to be more aggressive, keep looking for each other, and just take the ball to the hoop and if you can get the contact, do so."
 
On what NJCU can do in the last three games to play like they did in the second half: "We need to keep looking for each other, scoring, and talking to each other. We need to continue to communicate, telling each other to move here or there, to switch, double or screen. We need to continue to play like we did today—if not even better."
 
On how she played today: "My mind was just clear today and I knew that today we needed to win. I came in ready and extremely prepared and I felt like my team was on the same page as I was."
 
OF NOTE:

• 67th meeting. WP leads the all-time series, 57-10, but had its 25-game winning streak since the 2001-02 season snapped.
• Deseree Johnson netted her 13th career double-digit scoring effort and sixth this season.
• Johnson's previous career high was 18 at The College of New Jersey on January 10, 2015 when she was 4-of-7 from three-point range and 7-of-13 from the field.
• Bria Smith reached double figures in scoring for the 34th time in 47 career games and the 19th time in 22 games this year.
• Jade Medley collected her 31st career double-digit scoring effort and 11th of the season.
• Kiana Briggs totaled double figures in scoring for the 11th time this season and 29th time in her career.
• NJCU is 44-1 all-time when scoring at least 80 points in a game; it was the third time this year the Knights reached that plateau.
• The 84 points were the third highest scoring output this season for NJCU—the Knights defeated Green Mountain College, 92-29, on January 3 and Ramapo College, 86-70 in Mahwah, on December 10.
• It was the third time NJCU has made at least nine threes in a game this season.
• The .481 team field goal percentage (25-52) was the second highest this season and best against an NJAC opponent.
• The previous record for best three-point percentage was set in the Ramapo game on December 10 when NJCU shot .556 (10-18). NJCU also hit what was believed to be a record 70 percent of its three-pointers (7-10) in the first half of that win.
• In games with fewer than 10 three-point attempts, NJCU shot .625 vs. Centenary (5-8) on January 7, 2002 and .600 vs. Kean (3-5) on November 26, 2002.
• NJCU out-rebounded the Pioneers, 47-34.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
On Wednesday, February 11 at 6 p.m., NJCU heads to Galloway, NJ for an NJAC matchup with upstart Richard Stockton College, which is tied for first place in the league at 18-4 overall and 14-1 in the conference. The Ospreys won the first meeting on January 7 in Jersey City, 70-58. Bria Smith had 16 points and 12 rebounds in the loss. It will be the 57th meeting in a series Stockton leads, 43-13, and has won 22 of the last 23 encounters since November 1998.