PITMAN, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University freshman point guard Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) has been named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week for the second time in three weeks, the league office announced on February 22. The award is for week three of the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign for games played the weekend of February 19-20.
 
Rodriguez, who was also the league's Rookie of the Week in week one on February 8, has led the Gothic Knights to a 6-0 record overall and in the NJAC — the best start to a season in the 51-year history of the program and their longest winning streak at any point in a season since the 1980-81/1981-82 campaigns.
 
Rodriguez, one of the most highly-touted recruits in school history, has been perhaps the most impactful player in the league as only a rookie, averaged 15.0 points, 5.5 assists, 5.0 steals and 3.0 rebounds per game with an incredible 2.8 assist/turnover ratio (11/4) as NJCU swept a season series from William Paterson University over the weekend for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
 
In a 69-49 win over the Pioneers on February 19 — the most lopsided win ever for NJCU over WPU — Rodriguez posted a near triple-double. NJCU led by as many as 25 points in the win. Rodriguez, vying for the sixth triple-double in school history and the first for a freshman, finished with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point distance, a career-high nine assists, seven steals and only one turnover in 37 minutes. She had 11 points, six assists and six steals by halftime to help stake NJCU to an insurmountable 40-17 lead.
 
The next day, in a come-from-behind, 62-46 win over the Pioneers in Wayne, N.J. on February 20, Rodriguez posted 11 points, four rebounds and three steals. Down four entering the fourth quarter, NJCU outscored WPU 24-4 in the final 10 minutes. The Knights' dominance down the stretch was fueled by Rodriguez, who added seven of her 11 points in crunch time. 
 
In six games, Rodriguez is averaging 16.8 points, 4.8 assists, 3.7 steals, 3.3 rebounds and a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio in 38.1 minutes per game. She is shooting a sizzling 59.3 percent from three-point range on the season on 16-of-27, adding 46.3 percent from the field (38-82) and 81.8 percent from the foul line (9-of-11). She has collected 101 points, scoring in double figures in all six outings, with a high of 23.
 
She is among the NJAC leaders in eight categories. She leads the NJAC in three-point percentage and steals, and ranks second in assists and minutes, fourth in field goal percentage and three-pointers made per game (2.7), fifth in assist/turnover ratio and sixth in points. She would rank third in free-throw percentage if she had reached the minimum attempts.
 
Through February 22, she ranks No. 8 in the country in three-point percentage, 10th in minutes per game (38.06), 16th in steals per game, 28th in three-pointers per game and 32nd in assists per game.
 
At Secaucus High School, she was selected First-Team All-State Group 2 and was one of the top players in all of North Jersey. She ranked No. 2 in the state of New Jersey in assists with 7.3 per game (190 in 26 games) and was also among the state's scoring leaders at 18.6 points per game. She ranked 23rd in the entire country in assists out of more than 425,000 high school girls basketball players in the United States. She finished her high school career with 1,735 points, 834 assists, 474 steals and 433 rebounds in 114 total games. She averaged 15.2 points, 7.3 assists, 4.2 steals and 3.8 rebounds for her career. 
 
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