JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | With only seven healthy players dressed for the New Jersey City University women's basketball team (0-8, 0-5 NJAC), the Gothic Knights lost a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest to Rutgers-Newark (6-3, 4-1 NJAC), 69-53 on December 8 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
The Knights were led by senior twin sisters, Marajiah and Miesha Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune), who both scored in double figures, the second time that has happened for NJCU this season.
 
Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) led the way for NJCU with 19 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and three steals, moving into seventh place on the New Jersey Athletic Conference all-time women's basketball career scoring list. She produced her third double-double of the season.
 
Miesha Bacon had 14 points (5-12 FG), eight rebounds and two blocks. Freshman forward Zyearah Taylor-Gaston (Jersey City, NJ/Marist (via St. Anthony)) finished with nine points.
 
For the Raiders, they also had a pair of sisters lead the way, with reigning NJAC Player of the Week, Faith Ashby (Teaneck, N.J.) leading Newark with 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Her younger sister, junior Hannah Ashby (Teaneck, N.J.), also chipped in 10 points, eight assists, three blocks, and two steals for Newark.
 
Junior center Comfort Akinbo (Woodbridge, N.J.) had a very strong game with a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double. She swatted three shots. Freshman forward Dorian Capurso (Little Ferry, N.J.) was 4-of-5 from the field, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
The Gothic Knights got off to a strong start, with freshman Emily Ruiz (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson (via County Prep)) hitting the opening shot of the game, followed by a Taylor-Gaston jumper, and a Mya Neal (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) steal and layup to put NJCU up 6-0 within the game's first 90 seconds. However, when Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) picked up her second foul late in the first quarter, the Raiders went on a 12-0 run that gave them a four-point lead heading into the second.
 
NJCU tied the game up in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but Newark slowly wore down a Gothic Knights side that was without five players due to injury, including two starters. The Raiders went into the half up eight (40-32) and never let NJCU get any closer than that in the second half. The Knights fought to the very end, scoring six straight in the closing minutes to cut into the final margin after trailing by 23 midway through the fourth quarter.
 
The Knights were once again missing size down low, as Newark outscored NJCU 46-26 in the paint and won the rebounding battle by 11 (54-43). Newark also had a 22-2 advantage in bench scoring.
 
NOTABLES:

• Series: 74th meeting. Rutgers-Newark leads all-time series 53-21 and has won the last 17 meetings.
• Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) is now averaging 21.8 points per game. She leads the NJAC in points per game and ranks in the top 20 in the country.
• Bacon now has 1,761 points in the collegiate career between Kean University (1,587 points, 2015-18) and NJCU (174 points). She passed two all-time Montclair State greats on the day—Kim Wilson who scored 1,757 points from 1987-91 and Katie Sire who netted 1,758 points in a career that wrapped up last season (2015-18).

 
UP NEXT:

• The Knights host a Monday night affair, as the College of St. Elizabeth (3-2) comes to town for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference tipoff at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on December 10 (7 p.m.). It will be the first meeting since February 9, 2005 in Jersey City. NJCU won that day, 83-39. NJCU leads the all-time series, which began in 1977-78, 11-1, and has won the last 10 meetings.

 
GOTHIC KNIGHTS on SOCIAL MEDIA:
For the latest on #NJCUWBB, follow the Gothic Knights on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and SnapChat. Preferred hashtags are #GothicFamily and #GothicGameDay.

ALL-TIME SCORING LEADERS, NJAC HISTORY (SINCE 1982-83, DIVISION III ERA) (1500 or more points)
RK	POINTS	PLAYER	SCHOOL(S)	YEARS
1	2,048	Michelle Jones	William Paterson	1987-91
2	2,041	Melissa Tobie	Montclair State	2011-15
3	2,027	Val Brown	Stockton	1981-85
4	1,974	Melissa Beyruti	Kean	2006-10
5	1,846	Tamara Carey	Rutgers-Camden	1991-95
6	1,806	Jenn Denby	Rowan	1994-98
7	1,761	Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune)	Kean (2015-18) and NJCU (2018-19)	2015-19
8	1,758	Katie Sire	Montclair State	2015-18
9	1,757	Kim Wilson	Montclair State	1987-91
10	1,740	Floriana Borova	William Paterson	2010-14
11	1,732	Tammy Steele	Rowan	1982-86
12	1,702	BriAnna Lucas	William Paterson	2008-12
13	1,682	Sherry Patterson	William Paterson	1983-87
14	1,673	Monique Hemmingway	NJCU	1984-87, 88-89
15	1,669	Katina Johnson	Ramapo	1990-94
16	1,648	April Smith	William Paterson	2008-12
17	1,643	Joy Silver	Rutgers-Camden	1999-2003
18	1,629	Kelli Bakanowsky	Stockton	1999-2003
19	1,541	Linda Long	Stockton	1988-92
20	1,518	Kimm Lacken	TCNJ	1984-88
21	1,514	Chris Mosca	NJCU	1980-84 *
22	1,503	Najha Treadwell	Kean (2014-15) and Stockton (2015-18)	2014-18
Records based on information submitted by NJAC institutions. Official NCAA women's basketball records began with the 1981-82 season and are based on information submitted to the NCAA statistics service by institutions participating in the weekly statistics rankings.   * Official career records include only those seasons in Division III during the era of official NCAA statistics, which began with the 1981-82 season. Three-point field goals were added in 1987-88. Rutgers-Newark does not have a reported 1,500-point scorer.   Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Carol Blazejowski of Montclair State scored 3,199 points from 1974-78, prior to the Division III era. Terry Cole scored 2,240 points for Rutgers-Camden from 1979-83, but played just one season during the NJAC Division III era.