AMHERST, Mass. — The New Jersey City University women's basketball team had the nation's #11-ranked team shaking in its boots from start to finish on Monday evening, Feb. 14. The Gothic Knights led by as many as nine late in the second quarter and held a six-point, 52-46 lead over Amherst College with just 3:51 remaining. However, the Mammoths closed the night on a 10-0 run to narrowly miss the upset bid by NJCU, while the Green and Gold can only look back on what might have been.

As sure as the sun rises every morning and sets every night, sophomore co-captain Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) once again posted a standout performance for NJCU (9-9) against highly-ranked Amherst (19-2). Just crowned New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Women's Basketball Player of the Week earlier today, the point guard led all players with a game-best 21 points and tied the game-high with five assists after playing the full 40 minutes. Another highlight performance came in the front court from freshman center Liyah Allen (Hillside, N.J./Hillside), who chipped in nine points, led all players with three blocks and pulled down a game-best 15 rebounds in 32 minutes on the floor.

Trailing by four at 10-6 with 2:48 left in the first quarter, the Gothic Knights went on a brief 8-0 run to make it 14-10, thanks in part to five points from junior forward Janari Newsome (Newark, N.J./Technology) and another trey from junior co-captain guard Laney Fox (Parkland, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) — she was held to just six points on the night. Then, leading by three with 4:21 remaining until the half, NJCU used a quick 6-0 run tot ake a game-high nine point lead at 28-19 with 1:53 left in the second quarter. Junior center Jimmirah Johnson (Prospect Park, N.J./International) sank the first layup, followed by a pair of buckets from Allen. However, the Mammoths used a 7-0 run of their own to trim it back to a two-point, 28-26 deficit at the break. Overall, the stifling Green and Gold defense held Amherst to just 21.6 percent shooting in the first half of play (8-of-37), including 0-of-9 from three-point range.

The hometown squad took a one-point, 37-36 lead at 3:41 in the third, but it was all NJCU from that point on until late in the fourth quarter, providing Amherst — a team that has only lost twice this season — with a real scare. Eventually, the Mammoths found themselves ahead, 46-45 with 6:54 left in the contest, but the Gothic Knights used a 7-0 run to take the six-point lead late. Allen began with a lay-in at 6:26 and then Rodriguez sank a layup at 4:51. Finally, with the shot clock about to expire, she fired a three from the corner at the buzzer to make it 52-46 with just under four minutes left. However, as mentioned, NJCU was unable to muster any offense for the remainder of the night and Amherst came back for the win. The Mammoths, shutout from three in the first half and just 1-of-5 in the third quarter, were a perfect 5-of-5 in the fourth from long range, which made all the difference.

Up Next:
NJCU now has one more game remaining in the regular-season when the squad returns to the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) on Wednesday night, Feb. 16, for a 6:00 p.m. tip against NJAC foe Stockton University — the Green and Gold topped Stockton 55-49 in Galloway, N.J., back on Jan. 12 behind 27 points from Rodriguez.

The Gothic Knights currently sit in a tie for fifth place in the NJAC standings, along with Ramapo College and the Ospreys, who are all 8-9 in conference play. The Roadrunners face Rutgers-Camden on Wednesday evening, while current eight-seed The College of New Jersey (7-10) faces off with Rutgers-Newark. With all 10 teams making the NJAC Tournament this season, much of the seeding will be decided on Wednesday night. The bottom four teams will play first round games (#10 at #7/#9 at #8) on Saturday, Feb. 19, and Jersey City looks to win against the Ospreys and hold on to the #5 seed in order to advance directly to the NJAC Quarterfinal round on Tuesday, Feb. 22.