Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (Feb. 11, 2017) – If the Rutgers University-Camden women's basketball team completes its quest to attain a spot in the six-team New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs, the Scarlet Raptors may look back at their third quarter here Saturday as the biggest 10 minutes of the season.
 
Rutgers-Camden went on a 23-8 run in the third quarter, turning a 28-26 halftime deficit into a 13-point lead and the Raptors went on to defeat William Paterson University, 63-49, in a key battle between two of the teams fighting for a playoff berth.
 
The victory lifts the Scarlet Raptors to 14-10 overall and drops Paterson to 13-11. More importantly, it evens the season series between the two teams and leaves both with an 8-9 conference mark with one game to play. Both teams have home games Wednesday night against the top two teams in the NJAC standings, with Rutgers-Camden hosting regular-season champion Montclair State University at 6 p.m. and Paterson entertaining second-place Kean University, also at 6 p.m.
 
Entering the final game of the regular season, there is a log jam in the fight for the final two playoff spots, with Rutgers-Camden, Paterson and The College of New Jersey all deadlocked in fifth place with 8-9 conference records. Rutgers-Newark is right behind them at 7-10. Newark closes its season Wednesday at TCNJ.
 
The victory was only the second win over Paterson in the Raptors' last 22 games, with the other one coming last season to break an 18-game losing streak against the Pioneers. Paterson leads the all-time series, 51-11.
 
Rutgers-Camden led most of the first half, building a lead as large as eight points (18-10) before William Paterson came back with a 14-8 run in the second quarter. The Pioneers took their first lead of the game at 25-24 on a jumper by junior forward Tori Woetzel (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) shortly before the end of the half. After Rutgers-Camden regained the lead, 26-25, on a layup by senior center Caroline Santiago (Buena, NJ/Buena Regional), Paterson scored the final points of the half on a three-pointer by freshman guard Kristina Ulrich (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) to take a 28-26 lead into the break.
 
Paterson freshman guard Gabby Harris (South River, NJ/South River) had 11 points to lead all scorers at halftime, while Santiago led the Scarlet Raptors with eight.
 
Coming out of the break, Woetzel hit a jumper to pad the Pioneers' lead to 30-26 before the Raptors ran off a seven-point run to take the lead for good. With a press that forced 11 Pioneer turnovers in the quarter, Rutgers-Camden's run started with a pair of foul shots by freshman guard Fatimah Williams (Camden, NJ/Timber Creek). Santiago followed with a layup to knot the score at 30-30 and junior forward/center Michelle Obasi's (Camden, NJ/Camden Catholic) three-point play put the Raptors ahead to stay, 33-30.
 
After Paterson cut the gap to 33-32, Rutgers-Camden rattled off a 14-point run, which included nine points by sophomore guard Gabby Greene (Howell, NJ/Howell). Greene's nine points led the Raptors during the quarter, while Obasi netted six, Santiago added four and both Williams and junior guard/forward Cara Racobaldo (Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic) added two apiece.
 
Greene finished with 16 points for the Raptors, hiking her career total over the 600 plateau to 601. Santiago netted 14 points and nine rebounds, while Williams scored 13. Obasi added 12 points and eight boards as Rutgers-Camden held a 39-30 advantage off the glass. Racobaldo and Greene tied for game-high honors with four assists apiece and Racobaldo's game-high four steals lifted her career total to 210, passing Assistant Coach and Rutgers-Camden Hall of Famer Karla Robinson for fourth place on the program's all-time list.
Paterson received a game-high 18 points from Harris.
 
The Scarlet Raptors will celebrate Senior Night on Wednesday against Montclair State. They will honor Santiago, their lone senior.