JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Stockton University opened up a 13-point first half lead and withstood a second-half comeback bid by the New Jersey City University women's basketball team to hang on for a 53-44 New Jersey Athletic Conference outcome on February 8 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
NJCU (9-13, 6-9 NJAC) got within four points twice in the latter stages of the second half but couldn't complete the comeback. The Gothic Knights had a chance to secure no worse than a tie for the final NJAC Tournament berth with a win, but Stockton (9-13, 4-11 NJAC) kept alive its faint playoff hopes with three regular season games remaining. The two schools split the season series, each winning on the opponent's floor.
 
Stockton won despite committing 28 turnovers as NJCU could only translate the giveaways into 14 points. 
 
Stockton shot 41.7 percent in the first half (10-24) and 3-of-4 from three-point range to lead by as many as 13 points late in the second quarter. NJCU shot 25.8 percent in the first half (8-31) and missed all seven threes in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Stockton sophomore guard Emily Donzanti led all scorers with 16 points (4-10 FG) and six rebounds in a full 40 minutes. Senior guard Lajerah Wright (Atlantic City, N.J.) added 10 points (4-9 FG), five rebounds and four assists.
 
No players scored in double figures for NJCU although seven players scored at least five points. Junior shooting guard Mya Neal (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) was NJCU's high scorer with eight points (4-9 FG) and a game-high nine rebounds.
 
NJCU could never find its shooting touch in the game, shooting 23.8 percent overall (15-63) and just 2-of-16 from three-point range. It also found itself in foul trouble much of the day, with three of its top players, freshman small forward Sarah Edmond (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield), senior shooting guard Hannah Johnson (Jersey City, NJ/Saint Dominic Academy) and junior power forward Ayanna Lewis (Willingboro, NJ/Burlington County institute of Technology) all fouling out. Junior wing Dayjah Anderson (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech), this week's NJAC Player of the Week, had seven rebounds and four steals but scored just seven points. 
 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Neal, making her third start of the season, scored half of NJCU's first eight points—following a fast break missed layup by a teammate with a putback and a jumper from the foul line that tied the game at 8-8. A layup by Anderson off a second chance gave NJCU its first lead of the game (10-9) with 34 seconds left in the quarter before freshman guard Maddie McCracken (Wildwood, N.J.)  hit a three with 17 seconds left to give the Ospreys a 12-10 lead after 10 minutes.
• Neal tied the game (12-12) with a long jumper 1:18 into the second quarter before Donzanti hit a three (15-12). Stockton pushed the lead to 20-15 on a runner off the window by Donzanti in transition, moments after a jumper by Wright. Donzanti's layup and three-point play made it a 24-16 lead and a wide-open layup by Wright with 1:53 left gave Stockton a 10-point, 26-16 advantage, at the end of a 10-1 run as NJCU missed a number of open looks.
• Sophomore guard Hailee Porricelli (Howell, N.J.)  hit a right-side three with 15 seconds left in the opening half to take a 13-point, 29-16 lead to extend the run to 13-1 before Johnson hit a pull-up jumper from the foul line as the first half expired.
• NJCU cut the deficit to 36-28 after three quarters, limiting Stockton to just seven points in the period. Stockton committed 23 turnovers through three quarters.
• In the fourth, Stockton went back up 11. McCrae answered with a three from the left arc with 6:50 left (40-32). NJCU got two subsequent defensive stops and rookie center Janari Newsome (Newark, NJ/Technology) hit a jumper from the foul line (5:41) and Lewis hit two foul shots with 5:15 left to cut the deficit to four (40-36). Stockton answered with two foul shots with 4:26 remaining (42-36). Edmond hit a jumper from the foul line with three minutes remaining to keep the deficit six (44-38) after Stockton hit two more foul shots.
• With 1:37 left after NJCU missed multiple looks, Anderson got a huge steal at midcourt and went to the rim on the fastbreak to cut the deficit to four (44-40) before sophomore guard Kiley Gelston (Washington Township, N.J.) sank a 12-foot jumper to answer and NJCU couldn't draw any closer. With 33.7 seconds left, Newsome scored underneath (48-42) and hit a free throw (48-43) before Donzanti sealed it with two from the line.

 
NOTABLES:

• Series: 66th meeting, Stockton leads 52-15. The schools have split the season series in consecutive years.

 
UP NEXT:

• NJCU heads to Ewing, N.J. on Wednesday, February 12 to face The College of New Jersey at Packer Hall at 6 p.m.

 
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