JERSEY CITY, N.J. — With a limited amount of fans in attendance, the New Jersey City University women's basketball program celebrated its trio of Seniors —
Ayanna Lewis (Willingboro, NJ/Burlington County institute of Technology),
Dayjah Anderson (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) and
Mya Neal (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) — this afternoon, Saturday, Feb. 27, during pregame ceremonies at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). What followed was a highly contested battle between two of the top New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) teams in NJCU and Montclair State University. However, despite a very strong first quarter by the Gothic Knights, after which they took a 31-28 advantage into the half, it was the Red Hawks who came out with the 67-58 victory following some strong play in the second and third quarters.
NJCU (6-2, 6-0 NJAC) came out of the gates firing on all cylinders on both ends of the court and eventually took a 15-4 lead over MSU (6-1, 6-0 NJAC) after the first 10:00 of play. The Gothic Knights scored 13 of the game's first 15 points and their strong first quarter was paced by a pair of freshmen in
Nahjeemah Holmes (Elizabeth, NJ/John E. Dwyer Tech) and
Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) — they combined for 12 points, with sophomore
Zianna Goda (Roselle, NJ/Newark Tech) chipping in the other three on a long ball. Defensively, the Gothic Knights were able to hold the Red Hawks to just 11.1 percent from the floor (1-of-9 shooting) and an 0-for-3 first-quarter performance from three-point range.
The second quarter was a bit more even of an affair, with Montclair State actually outscoring the home team 24-16 to make it a much closer game come halftime. The third quarter is where the Red Hawks made their statement and outscored NJCU 19-9 to make it a 47-40 game in their favor after 30:00 of play. The Gothic Knights were able to close the gap back to a one-possession game early in the fourth quarter thanks to a pair of buckets from Goda and Rodriguez and with 8:16 left in regulation, NJCU trailed just 47-44.
Unfortunately the Gothic Knights were unable to get any closer down the stretch as the Red Hawks continued their strong shooting from beyond the arc — MSU was 9-of-16 from long range following the first quarter — and suffered just their second and final loss of the regular season.
Highlights:
- Rodriguez, fresh off her award-laden week (
NJAC,
Metropolitan Basketball Writers,
D3hoops.com), led NJCU with 19 points and five assists.
- Holmes has now scored in double figures in four straight, and five of six overall, as she finished with 16 points, six rebounds, two steals and block.
- Lewis made her first start of the year and saw 31 minutes, finishing with seven points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Although the regular-season has come to a close, the Gothic Knights will return to action late next week. NJCU has earned the #2 seed in the NJAC Tournament and will play host to #6 seeded William Paterson University at the JMAC on Friday night, March 5, for a 5:00 p.m. tip.
