JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Senior forward Deseree Johnson (Red Bank, NJ/Monmouth Regional) knocked down a three-pointer from the right corner with 47.5 seconds remaining in the first quarter—her 50th of the season and 107th of her career—to become the New Jersey City University women's basketball new all-time leader and later broke the single-season record as well but her Gothic Knights fell to Stockton University, 85-45, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game on February 10 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
Stockton (18-4, 12-3 NJAC), the No. 1 ranked team in the first NCAA Division III Atlantic Region poll remained in second place in the NJAC with two games remaining. NJCU drops to 1-21 (0-16 NJAC). The Ospreys broke open what was an eight-point game at halftime by outscoring the Gothic Knights 54-22 in the second half.
 
While it's been a disappointing season for NJCU, Johnson, in her 22nd game of the season, was able to etch her name in the all-time record book in her 91st career game to surpass the 14-year-old program record of 106 set by Sandra Nunez in 93 games from 1998-2002. Johnson, who finished the day with 111 career threes and 54 this season would hit five three-pointers (5-8 3FG) and also break the 22-year-old single-season record for made threes (52) set by Laurice Hynson in 23 games from 1993-94.
 
Stockton, which entered the game ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division III in blocks per game (8.0), had 11 in the game, led by reigning NJAC Defensive Player of the Year, sophomore forward Sasha Williams (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West). The 6-foot-2 standout just missed her third triple double of the season, finishing with 19 points (9-14 FG), nine rebounds, nine blocks, four steals and three assists in 34 minutes.
 
With the win for the Ospreys, coupled with Montclair State's 71-70 road win at Rowan, those three schools are all tied for first place in the NJAC at 13-3 with two games remaining. Stockton is 2-1 against those teams this year and closes the regular season at Montclair in what could end up being a winner-take-all game on February 17.
 
Johnson finished with a team-high 17 for NJCU (6-16 FG), highlighted by the 5-of-8 three-point prowess in 36 minutes. Her triple with 3:23 left in the third quarter from the left arc was her 53rd of the season, breaking the long-standing standard. Junior guard Jazz Randall (Parsippany, NJ/West Orange) assisted on both the single-season and career record threes and finished the game with seven points (3-7 FG) and five assists.
 
In just her fourth collegiate game, sophomore center Shege Haxhaj (Lyndhurst, NJ/Lyndhurst) had her best performance, scoring 11 points (2-6 FG), including 7-of-10 foul shooting with eight rebounds and three blocks. Sophomore center Sharaunda Fiedtkou (West Orange, NJ/Bayonne) finished with six rebounds, four steals, four points and three blocks.
 
For Stockton, sophomore guard Lea Mendolla (Nutley, NJ/Mount St. Dominic) scored 12 of her 15 in the second half as the Ospreys pulled away. She was 5-of-9 overall and 3-of-5 from three. Sophomore forward Najha Treadwell (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) added 12 points (5-7 FG), six rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Junior guard Taylor Christina (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea) also scored 12 with three steals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
The Ospreys scored the first 12 points of the game and led 17-2 with 3:25 to go in the opening quarter before Randall scored five straight points and Johnson buried her record-breaking triple. A 10-1 run to end the quarter kept NJCU in the game down, 18-12.
 
A jumper by Treadwell with 7:11 to go in the first half pushed the lead back to double figures and the Ospreys lead reached as many as 13, including 31-18 with 2:16 to go in the period before Johnson's second three of the game with 39 seconds left made it an eight-point deficit at halftime (31-23).
 
But Stockton began pulling away in the third. Taylor hit a three from the right corner with 8:04 to play and her steal and fast break basket with 6:26 to go made it 40-25. Two baskets by Williams made it a 46-25 game. Johnson tied the single-season mark with 4:35 left in the third with her 52nd three from the left corner in front of own bench. Stockton led 54-35 after three periods. Mendolla hit three threes in a row in the middle of the fourth quarter to pad the lead. The Ospreys outscored NJCU 31-10 in the final quarter to make the final outcome more lopsided than it had been. Stockton's largest lead was 41 (82-41) on a fast break with 1:40 to play. Johnson had previously sunk her fifth three of the game 43 seconds into the fourth when the deficit was 18.
 
#KnightNotes:

• 59th meeting. Stockton leads the all-time series, 46-13. Stockton has won 25 of the last 26 meetings since November, 1998.
• Deseree Johnson entered the game with 159 three-point attempts this season. With eight tries she also broke the single-season record for three-point attempts with 167. The previous marks were 166 by Tania Greenleaf (25 games, 2007-08 season) and 165 by Hynson in her record-breaking 1993-94 season.

 
What's Next?:
NJCU will play the final home game of the season on Saturday, February 13 at 2 p.m. when it hosts first-place Montclair State University. On Senior Day, NJCU will honor its lone senior, Deseree Johnson. It will be the 60th meeting in a series MSU leads, 56-3. The Red Hawks have won the last 25 meetings since February 13, 2002. On January 16 in Montclair, NJ, MSU limited the Knights to three points in the second quarter and to single digits in each period before prevailing, 74-25. Montclair led 17-8 after one quarter, 38-11 at halftime and 53-20 at the end of 30 minutes before outscoring the Knights 21-5 in the fourth quarter. Follow live stats (http://sidearmstats.com/njcu/wbball/) or live video (https://www.youtube.com/user/NJCUGothicKnights/live).