Box Score

NEWARK, N.J. (Jan. 6, 2016) – The game had barely started when the Rutgers University-Camden women's basketball team found itself facing an 11-point deficit here Wednesday night against New Jersey Athletic Conference rival and sister school Rutgers-Newark.
 
The Scarlet Raptors may have been down, but they certainly weren't out.
 
Rutgers-Camden roared back and finally caught and passed Rutgers-Newark in the fourth quarter on its way to a thrilling 77-71 victory. Freshman guard Gabby Greene (Howell, NJ/Howell) paced the team with a career-high 30 points.
 
It was the fourth straight win for the Scarlet Raptors, their longest winning streak since six straight games during the 2011-12 season, and it raised their record to 7-4 overall.
 
With a 3-3 record in the NJAC, it marks the first time Rutgers-Camden has been .500 after six conference games  since they started 3-3 during the 2002-03 season. They won their only NJAC title that season.
 
Rutgers-Newark falls to 5-8 overall and 1-5 in the NJAC.
 
It was the Raptors' first win over Rutgers-Newark since the 58-49 victory in Newark on Dec. 3, 2011 that started the Raptors' six-game winning streak that season. Wednesday night's win snapped Camden's six-game losing streak in the series, which Newark now leads, 35-26.
 
The Scarlet Raiders jumped to a 14-3 lead in the first six minutes, aided by an 11-point run that broke a 3-3 tie. They held the Scarlet Raptors scoreless for 3:21 during that span.
 
With senior guard Arianna Williams (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) leading the way, the host team bolted to its huge early lead, but Rutgers-Camden didn't flinch. By the end of the first quarter, the Scarlet Raptors had whittled the margin to 18-11, and they made more inroads in the second quarter. After Greene hit a three-point buzzer-beater before the half, the Rutgers-Camden deficit was only five points, at 30-25.
 
Williams scored 12 first-half points for the Scarlet Raiders, while two-time NJAC Player of the Week Maria Simmons (Irvington, NJ/Irvington), a junior guard, had eight. Rutgers-Camden's first-half effort was led by its own two-time NJAC Player of the Week, senior guard/forward Kamari Talley (Camden, NJ/Creative Arts), who notched nine points and eight rebounds. Greene added seven points in the opening half for the Scarlet Raptors.
 
With Greene scorching the nets 30 points (10 more than her previous high against Bryn Mawr on Nov. 18), the Scarlet Raptors cut the deficit to 36-34 early in the third quarter, before heading into the fourth quarter down by 54-49.
 
Rutgers-Camden scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to take its first lead of the game. Junior forward/center Caroline Santiago (Buena, NJ/Buena Regional) led the charge, bookending a pair of three-point plays around a trey by Greene. Greene's three-pointer put the Raptors ahead, 55-54, with 8:53 remaining in the game.
 
Rutgers-Camden padded its lead to 67-58 before the host team came roaring back with nine straight points, tying the contest at 67-67 with 2:17 remaining on a three-point play by Simmons. Moments later, Greene sank a pair of foul shots to put the Raptors ahead for good, 69-67.
 
Greene finished the night 8-for-19 from the field, including a 6-for-12 performance from three-point range, and also shot 8-for-10 from the foul line. She added three assists, three rebounds and two steals.
 
Talley, meanwhile, collected her ninth straight double-double with 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Santiago, a first-year Scarlet Raptor after a two-year career at Cumberland County College, collected her first double-double at Rutgers-Camden. She collected her Raptor career high of 12 points, while tying her Raptor high of 11 rebounds.
 
Sophomore guard//forward Cara Racobaldo (Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic), added a game-high nine assists, one shy of her career high, and chipped in with five points, four steals and three boards. Sophomore guard Alexis Sommers (Collingswood, NJ/Haddon Township) tied her career highs of six points and three rebounds, including clutch 4-for-4 shooting from the foul line.
 
Newark received 27 points from Williams and 26 from Simmons. Junior guard Shala Glenn (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) added a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Rutgers-Camden hosts nationally-ranked Montclair State University in a 1 p.m. NJAC game on Saturday. The Red Hawks are currently ranked No. 21 in the USA Today Sports Top 25 Division III Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll. They are No. 23 in the latest D3hoops.com poll.