Box Score

NEWARK, N.J. – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team roared back from a 13-point first-half deficit and went on to defeat sister school Rutgers University-Camden, 76-70, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Wednesday night.
 
Newark, which entered the evening locked in a three-way tie for fifth place in the NJAC standings with Kean University and The College of New Jersey, improves to 12-11 overall and 8-8 in the NJAC. The Scarlet Raiders have won six straight games against the Scarlet Raptors, including a 66-44 victory earlier this season (Jan. 7) in Camden. The Scarlet Raiders lead the all-time series, 35-25.
 
Camden falls to 8-15 overall and 4-12 in the NJAC with its fourth straight loss despite a record-tying night by senior guard Alex Gravinese (Audubon, NJ/Audubon). Gravinese hit seven three-pointers – one shy of her single-game program record – to hike her season total to 66 treys. The 66 treys tied the single-season mark she reached last season, when her 66 three-pointers tied her atop the program's all-time charts with Megan Crank (1994-95 season).
 
Gravinese finished with 26 points, one shy of her career high set on Dec. 14, 2014 against Yeshiva University. Her seven treys, meanwhile, were one short of her single-game mark set against the College of Staten Island on Feb. 17, 2014. They also raised her program record to 165 three-pointers for her three-year Scarlet Raptor career and hiked her Rutgers-Camden scoring output over the 700-point plateau to 704. She has a combined 864 in her overall career, counting her freshman year at Rosemont College.
 
Behind the hot shooting of Gravinese and the all-around play of senior guard/forward Irene Grimanis (Brooklawn, NJ/Gloucester), who had eight points and eight rebounds in the first half, Rutgers-Camden raced to an early 28-15 lead. A 10-point Newark run sliced the gap to 28-25, however, and by halftime the Scarlet Raptors were clinging to a 30-28 advantage.
 
The teams were tied at 30-30, 33-33 and 35-35 early in the second half before Rutgers-Newark took control with a 13-point run. They took the lead for good, 38-35, on a three-point play by sophomore guard Maria Simmons (Irvington, NJ/Irvington), kicking off their decisive run. Simmons notched eight of the 13 points in that stretch.
 
Senior forward Jade Howard (Sicklerville, NJ/St. Joseph's-Hammonton) finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists for the Scarlet Raiders, while Simmons scored 19 and had six assists and four steals. Senior center Sharee Gordon (Newark, NJ/University) canned 12 points and sophomore guard Shala Glenn (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) added 11 for Rutgers-Newark.
 
In addition to Gravinese's 26 points, senior center Tanjae Lewis (Magnolia, NJ/Sterling) notched her sixth double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Scarlet Raptors. Lewis' 22 points, aided by 10-for-12 shooting from the foul line, set her career high. She passed the 21 points she scored against St. Joseph's College-Long Island on Dec. 20, 2014.
 
Grimanis finished with a game-high 14 rebounds to hike her career total to 625, four short of eighth-place Michelle Riley (1996-2000) on the program's career list. She also added eight points, one shy of her career high, and four assists, two shy of her career high.
 
Freshman guard Cara Racobaldo (Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic) notched seven rebounds and tied Newark's Simmons with a game-high six assists.
 
 
Rutgers-Newark shot 27-for-55 (49.1 percent) from the floor, while Rutgers-Camden was 25-for-75 (33.3), including 7-for-19 (36.8) from three-point range. Rutgers-Camden had a commanding 52-34 advantage off the boards.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Saturday, when they host Ramapo College in a 4 p.m. NJAC game. Prior to the contest, Rutgers-Camden will celebrate the collegiate careers of senior tri-captains Alex Gravinese (Audubon, NJ/Audubon), Irene Grimanis (Brooklawn, NJ/Gloucester) and Tanjae Lewis (Magnolia, NJ/Sterling).