JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The Gothic Knights, already facing an uphill battle against the top seed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, saw three of their starters foul out, while another starter was held to just 17 minutes because of foul trouble, when New Jersey City University (6-11, 4-7 NJAC) fell 83-55 to first-place Rowan University (16-2, 10-1 NJAC) on January 25 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
Senior shooting guard and captain Hannah Johnson (Jersey City, NJ/Saint Dominic Academy) managed 15 points and three rebounds in her 19 minutes before fouling out with 7:24 remaining. Senior point guard and co-captain Aaliyah McCrae (Paterson, NJ/Manchester Regional) put in a valiant effort, playing all 40 minutes to help cover for her teammate's foul trouble, scoring 10 points and pulling down eight rebounds, both career-highs for her only season at NJCU. Freshman forward Sarah Edmond (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield), the NJAC Rookie of the Week, pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds—her fourth time in double figures this season.
 
The Profs were led by freshman guard Nicole Mallard (Washington, N.J.) who had 19 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Freshman wing Eliana Santana (Pennsauken, N.J.) chipped in with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, while sophomore guard Grace Marshall (Bellmawr, N.J.) did a little of everything with 14 points, four rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Sophomore center Ayanna Johnson (Ewing, N.J.), the NJAC leader in rebounding and blocked shots entering the day, was limited to nine boards and five points but she did swat away six shots.
 
The game was played at a frenetic pace, and that played into NJCU's hand to start. The Knights got out to a quick start, taking an early 9-4 lead, before Rowan rattled off 10 straight to take a lead they would hold for the rest of the game. In fact, outside of a pair of Mya Neal (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) made free throws, Rowan scored 17 of the final 19 points of the first quarter.   
 
Neal, a junior guard, got things going with another bucket to start the second, a three this time, and the Knights used their fast pace and heavy press to cut the Rowan lead all the way down to one (28-27) at the 4:28 mark in the second quarter. Rowan once again ended the quarter on a high note, however, taking 11 of the final 13 points to claim a 10-point cushion (39-29) going into the break.
 
The third quarter was all Rowan, as several key NJCU players were quickly forced to the bench, and the Knights were unable to score for the first 4:25 of the second half, allowing Rowan to extend their lead out to 20. Once the starters returned, they were able to play Rowan even, but the Profs still headed into the fourth up 19, 66-47.
 
The Knights were cold to start the fourth quarter as well, scoring just one point in the first 4:36 this time, with head coach Patrick Devaney turning to his bench to finish off the game. Sophomore shooting guard Dionna Lenardo (Bayonne, N.J./Hudson Catholic) set an NJCU career-high with five points off the bench, while rookie guard Samantha DiPopolo (North Arlington, NJ/North Arlington) also tied her NJCU career-high with five.
 
NOTABLES:

• Series: 62nd meeting; Rowan now leads 50-12 and has won the last 10 meetings. 
• Hannah Johnson (Jersey City, NJ/Saint Dominic Academy) has scored in double figures in nine games this season, including the last six.

 
UP NEXT:

• NJCU plays their final non-conference game of the season, a rescheduled matchup with Baruch College (12-4) on Monday, January 27 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center with tip-off of 7:00 p.m. Watch live on #GothicVision.

 
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