The win over the Scarlet Raiders is the 11th straight for the Gothic Knights and the 6th straight at the Golden Dome.
NJCU (7-9, 5-7) was led by a career-high 31 points from Meghan Gentile (Roseland, N.J./Immaculate Conception). Autumn John (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) also had a career night, tallying 21 rebounds to go along with 17 points. Na'Tori Postell added 18 points and a season-high seven steals.
Rutgers-Newark (2-17, 0-12) picked up 29 points from Quanajah Felder. Sanaa Brodie recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Nicole Timario added 13 points.
Both teams came out firing in the first quarter as they both tallied 20+ points. It was the Gothic Knights who took an early eight-point lead, 10-2, thanks to three-point baskets by Gentile and Postell. The Scarlet Raiders chipped away at the lead and eventually took the lead, 15-14, behind a Felder three-point bucket. With 1:45 remaining, NJCU had regained the lead and extended it to six. After the dust settled, the Gothic Knights took a seven-point lead into the second stanza.
NJCU remained in front for most of the second quarter, however, Rutgers-Newark refused to wither away. With 2:37 left, the Scarlet Raiders knotted the game up at 35 before taking a two-point lead behind a Brodie layup. In the final minutes, both teams traded points until the buzzer, which saw Rutgers-Newark take a one-point lead into the locker room.
Much like the start of the game, NJCU exploded out of the gate, regaining the lead and ballooning its lead to seven. Rutgers-Newark, once again, tied the game up with 4:38 to go, before John cashed in a pair from the charity stripe. With under two minutes to go, NJCU scored five points in quick succession to once again go ahead by seven before the page turned to the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the first double-digit lead of the game as Postell pushed NJCU ahead by 10 from the free-throw line. Postell built on that momentum and gave NJCU a 16-point lead when she drained a deep three-point basket with 3:35 to go. With a comfortable lead in hand, the Gothic Knights closed out the NJAC contest to earn a hard-fought road win.
Up Next:
NJCU returns to action on Saturday, January 31, when they host Kean University at 1:00 pm at the John J. Moore Athletics & Fitness Center.
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