JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Trailing by as many as seven points with just 4:15 to go in regulation, the two-time reigning New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) champion New Jersey City University women's basketball team —
also the 2022-23 NJAC Regular-Season champions — bounced back with a vengeance in the final stretch of the fourth to come back and tie it up against #4-seeded The College of New Jersey at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) on Wednesday night, Feb. 22. NJCU closed out the quarter with a 7-0 run to tie it up and force overtime at 61-61. Then, down by six at 67-61 after two quick Lions' threes to start the extra period, Jersey City stayed strong and outlasted TCNJ for the 78-74 NJAC Semifinal victory on Coach Charlie Brown Court to advance to the program's third consecutive NJAC Championship game, which will take place back at the JMAC on Saturday night, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. against #3 seed Rowan University.
In another day the ends in "Y," it was once again junior standout guard
Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) who poured in a game-best 33 points to go with a game-high 10 assists for her fourth double-double of the season. That being said, NJCU (15-10) had some other players show out against the Lions (17-10) with some stellar supporting performances. Senior guard
Jada Camacho (Jersey City, N.J./Dickinson) and rookie forward
Jalynn Clark (Irvington, N.J./Elizabeth) had near-identical stat lines, each finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds — Clark also had a game-high-tying two steals. Additionally, since returning to the squad this semester after more than a season and a half away from the program, junior guard
Sarah Edmond (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) made just her second start of the season. She pulled down a season- and game-best 14 boards over 29 minutes on the floor and was a defensive stopper all night long. Not to be outdone defensively, sophomore center
Briana Davis (Bronx, N.Y./Lincoln (via County Prep)) came off the bench for 19 minutes and finished with six points, five boards and game-best and career-high-tying five block shots.
"It feels amazing; I'm literally going to cry, I'm so proud of my team," said Rodriguez during the postgame GothicVision interview. "We never gave up, we just kept fighting and we knew they were going to give us every single thing they've got. So we knew we had to come out here and just keep fighting. We just needed to put on a show for our city."
The Gothic Knights trailed by five at 31-26 after a tough first half and the Lions continued to put the pressure on early in the third, going up by a game-high eight points at 34-26 with 8:15 to go in the quarter. However, Jersey City answered back with a 12-0 run as the Gothic Knights came alive, jumping out to a four-point, 38-34 lead with 4:35 to go in the third. Rodriguez started it off with a jumper at 7:15 before Edmond put in work on the offensive glass and sank the second-chance layin at 6:40, drawing a foul as well and sinking the free throw for the three-point play. Rodriguez then did her best Edmond impression by completing a three-point play of her own at 5:43 to tie it up. Davis then chipped in a bucket down low before blocking a shot on the other end that turned into an assist for her and a fastbreak bucket for Rodriguez to close out the run. TCNJ eventually took back a two-point, 43-41 lead at the end of three quarters.
As mentioned, the Lions went up by seven on multiple occasions in the fourth, including at 61-54 with just 4:15 left in regulation. However, the Gothic Knights clamped down on defense and did not allow TCNJ to score another point in the quarter, while notching three buckets and a foul shot of their own to tie it up at 61-61 to force overtime. Relatively quiet until overtime, Camacho took over and scored nine of her 13 in the final 4:03 of tonight's game. The Lions drained two quick threes to put the pressure on and take a six-point, 67-61 lead with 4:20 to go. Camacho answered with a three at 4:03 to cut the deficit in half. Moments later, she notched a steal that turned into an assist for her and a fastbreak layup for Clark to cut it to just one. After TCNJ hit a pair of free throws, Camacho again fired back with a good jumper at 2:50. Davis and junior center
Jimmirah Johnson (Prospect Park, N.J./International) scored the next four for NJCU before Camacho put Jersey City up by one with a three with just 45 seconds left, making it 75-74. Rodriguez eventually iced it with a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left before Camacho scored one more point with just a second on the clock from the foul line. Finally, the buzzer sounded, the comeback was complete and pandamonium ensued on the court for the Gothic Knights.
Up Next:
The Gothic Knights victory, paired with Rowan's 68-58 upset victory over #2 seed Kean University earlier tonight in Union, N.J., sets up Saturday night's 7:30 p.m. championship clash between Jersey City and the Profs. NJCU has won four straight against Rowan, including both meetings this season and the Green and Gold look to do it one more time in order to clinch three straight NJAC Championships and two consecutive NCAA Division III Championship Tournament berths.
