EWING, N.J. — For the fourth consecutive season, the New Jersey City University women's basketball team is set to compete for the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) championship. The Gothic Knights, who won in 2021 and 2022 and finished as the runner-up last year, are seeded #2 in the 2024 Tournament and travel down to top-seeded The College of New Jersey on Friday night, Feb. 23, with an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division III Championship on the line.



Series History
Dating back to head coach Pat Devaney, Sr.'s start on the sideline — the 2018-19 season — the Gothic Knights and Lions have faced off 13 times, with NJCU holding the 7-6 advantage, including 7-3 since February of 2020. The teams have split the regular-season series in each of the last three seasons. This year, NJCU got a 28-point performance from senior guard Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) at TCNJ on Dec. 2 en route to the 69-62 win, while a buzzer-beater gave the Lions the 69-68 win in Jersey City on Jan. 20.

However, in the postseason, the Green and Gold have squared off with TCNJ three years in a row, with NJCU coming out on top in all three meetings — the 2021 and 2023 semifinals and the 2022 championship game. Rodriguez is averaging 23.3 points/game over those three matchups, while senior forward Sarah Edmond (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) averaged 11.5 rebounds having played in two of those games. Senior center Jimmirah Johnson (Prospect Park, N.J./International) also played in two of those three games and averaged 9.5 points and 10.0 rebounds.

This Season
Rodriguez — the two-time reigning NJAC Player of the Year — will be the game's leading scorer, as she comes in averaging 19.6 points and 5.6 assists per game. Behind her on NJCU are All-NJAC Honorable Mention selection senior forward Dayjah Anderson (East Orange, NJ/Newark Tech) with 8.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, as well as junior guard Alaisha Mumford (Jersey City, N.J./Lincoln), who averages 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

For TCNJ, First Team All-NJAC selection and graduate student guard Julia Setaro leads with 14.5 points per game, followed by Second Team honoree and junior guard Nina Branchizio and her 10.8 points per game. The squad itself is helmed by reining NJAC Coach of the Year Chessie Jackson.

Regional Rankings
Both teams are ranked in the top seven within Region 4 as part of the most recent NCAA Division III Regional Rankings. NJCU is tops in the NJAC at #3, while TCNJ is #5. The Gothic Knights have an overall record of 5-4 against regionally ranked opponents, including their highlight victory of the season in #25 SUNY New Paltz, which is #1 in Region 3.

The Lions are 3-4 against regionally ranked opponents, with one win over NJCU and a pair against Kean University. Coincidentally, that regular-season series sweep of the Cougars is what gave TCNJ the #1 seed in the NJAC Tournament as part of the tiebreaker, with NJCU the the Lions each finishing 14-4 in regular-season conference play.

The Game Info
NJCU and TCNJ are set to tip off at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night in Packer Hall on the Lions' campus.

Tickets will go on sale no later than 6:00 p.m. and can be purchased on a first-come, first-serve basis, with limited seating available. It is $5 for students, children and seniors and $10 for adults.

If you cannot attend in person, you can follow along live video the TCNJ broadcast and live stats at www.njcugothicknights.com/coverage.