Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (Dec. 14, 2016) – Heading into the second half of their New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Wednesday night, the Rutgers University-Camden women's basketball team seemed to have things under control.
 
The Scarlet Raptors were a different team in the second half, however, and Rutgers-Newark roared right past them on the way to a 65-53 conference victory.
 
Rutgers-Newark outscored Rutgers-Camden, 46-20, in the second half as it turned a 33-19 halftime deficit into a 12-point victory. The Scarlet Raiders improved to 3-7 overall and 2-3 in the conference, while the Scarlet Raptors fell to 7-3 overall and 2-3 in NJAC play.
 
Rutgers-Newark leads the all-time series, 36-27.
 
Rutgers-Camden grabbed the lead from the start on a three-pointer by junior guard Jovan Childers (Bridgeton, NJ/Bridgeton) and held it throughout the half. By halftime, the Scarlet Raptors held a 33-19 lead, paced by 11 points from sophomore guard Gabby Greene (Howell, NJ/Howell), who shot 4-for-7 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from three-point range, in the opening 20 minutes. Childers added seven first-half points. For Newark, senior guard Maria Simmons (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) accounted for 11 of her team's 19 points.
 
Everything changed during Newark's 23-10 third-quarter run. The Scarlet Raiders grabbed their first lead of the night with 30 seconds remaining in the quarter, 42-41, on a three-pointer by junior forward Nicole Skelly (Belleville, NJ/Immaculate Conception). Although the Scarlet Raptors regained the lead, 43-42, by the end of the quarter on a jumper by freshman forward Kirsten Flournoy (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek), their sister school from Newark had all the momentum.
 
The teams traded leads two more times early in the fourth quarter before freshman guard Faith Ashby (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) put Newark ahead to stay, 47-46, with a pair of foul shots with 6:41 remaining. A little over four minutes later, the Scarlet Raiders built their first double-digit lead, 57-47, on a layup by Simmons.
 
Rutgers-Camden finished with 25 turnovers, including 13 in the second half, when the Raptors also shot a combined 9-for-26 from the floor, including 4-for-16 from three-point range.
 
Simmons lead Newark with 25 points, while Ashby added 20 and a game-high seven steals. Skelly chipped in with 10 points for the Scarlet Raiders.
 
Rutgers-Camden received 13 points from Childers and 11 apiece from Greene and Flournoy. Junior center Michelle Obasi (Camden, NJ/Camden Catholic) had a game-high 10 rebounds before fouling out late in the game.
 
Rutgers-Newark plays a 2 p.m. non-conference game at Drew University on Saturday. Rutgers-Camden won't play again until the winter break, when it travels to New York City for a 1 p.m. contest at Hunter College on Dec. 30.