JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University women's basketball team started off the afternoon strong with a nice first quarter of play on Saturday, Dec. 3, at home at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) against New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) rival The College of New Jersey. However, the visiting Lions shifted the tide for the remainder of last season's NJAC Championship rematch and edged out the hosting Gothic Knights by four, 43-39, in the defensive battle.

Junior guard Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) had a strong day for NJCU (1-4, 1-2 NJAC), leading all players with a game-best 20 points to go with seven boards, a game-high three assists, a game-high-tying two steals and a block in 39 minutes on the floor against TCNJ (6-2, 3-0 NJAC). The Gothic Knights started off the first quarter on a roll and went up 10-0 to kick off the afternoon. Junior forward Kyara Cowan (Maywood, N.J./Hackensack) had the first bucket of the day with a layup down low, followed by a fastbreak lay-in and a subsequent three-pointer for senior guard Laney Fox (Parkland, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons). Senior guard Jada Camacho (Jersey City, N.J./Dickinson) ended the run with a three of her own at the 6:36 mark and it looked like Jersey City had the game well at hand as owners of seven-point, 14-7 lead at the end of the quarter.

However, despite NJCU holding the Lions to just 26.4 percent shooting on the day (14-of-53), including a lowly 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from long range, the visitors did a majority of their damage in the second quarter. TCNJ was 8-of-17 from the floor (47.1 percent) over those 10 minutes, including 4-of-6 from three (66.7 percent) — the Lions also made 4-of-4 from the line in the second quarter and were 10-of-12 overall on the afternoon. TCNJ began the second on an 18-2 run and shifted the Gothic Knights' seven-point advantage to a nine-point lead of their own. Jersey City trimmed the lead a couple of times in the remainder of the half, but TCNJ entered the break still up by nine at 31-22.

Needing to regroup, both squads turned on the defensive play in the second half, combining for just 29 total points. The teams went back and forth in the third quarter, each scoring seven points, and the Lions remained ahead by nine at 38-29 after 30 minutes of play. Trailing by 10 early in the fourth, the Gothic Knights worked some magic and began to chip away at TCNJ's lead thanks to a 10-2 run that spanned nearly seven minutes.

Rodriguez sank a jumper at 8:51 to trim it back to eight and then sank a fastbreak bucket to cut it to six at 6:52. The Lions scored to make it an eight-point game again at 3:20, but Rodriguez once again scored to cut it back down to six with 3:08 left. Fox then notched a steal and took it the length of the court to make it a four-point game, followed by another score from Rodriguez to make it a two-point, 41-39 TCNJ lead with just 2:00 left.

Jersey City had five more opportunities to either tie it or take the lead in the final two minutes, but could not convert. The Lions sank a couple of free throws in the waning moments to cement the four-point, 43-39 win.

Highlights:
- Fox ended the night with a game-high-tying 10 rebounds to go with nine points, two assists and two steals.
- Cowan also pulled down 10 boards, blocked a game-high-tying three shots, scored two points, had a steal and an assist.

Up Next:
No rest for the weary as the Gothic Knights return to action tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, Dec. 4, back at the JMAC when #9/3 Amherst College comes to town for a 3:00 p.m. tip. NJCU played well in last year's road, 56-52 loss at the Mammoths in Amherst, Mass., last season.