Box Score

UNION, N.J. (Feb. 4, 2017) – What a difference a few days and a home court advantage can make in a home-and-home battle between two top-notch teams.
 
When the Rutgers University-Camden women's basketball team hosted Kean University in a New Jersey Athletic Conference makeup game on Monday night, the Scarlet Raptors posted an 87-49 victory over the team that is second in the conference standings.
 
Kean turned the tables on its home court here Saturday afternoon, breaking open a halftime tie with a strong second half on its way to an 82-66 win.
 
The victory lifts the Cougars to 15-7 overall and 12-3 in the conference. Rutgers-Camden falls to 13-9 overall and 7-8 in the NJAC. Kean has won 22 of the last 24 games in the series and holds a 48-19 all-time lead over Rutgers-Camden.
 
Sophomore guards Marajiah Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) and Danielle Oakley (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) paced the Cougars with 22 and 18 points, respectively.
 
Freshman center De'Mean Bond (Paterson, NJ/John F. Kennedy) grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds and added nine points for Kean. Senior guard Jaquetta Owens (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield Tech) notched nine points and game-high totals of five steals and eight assists for the Cougars, who placed nine players in the scoring column.
 
With the halftime score deadlocked at 33-33, the Cougars took the lead for good after the break on a layup by another sophomore guard, Miesha Bacon (Neptune, NJ/Neptune). The closest the Raptors came after that was a 36-35 deficit, and by the end of the third quarter, Kean held a 55-46 lead.
 
Kean jumped to an early 30-13 lead before Rutgers-Camden came roaring back to forge a 33-33 deadlock at the half. Rutgers-Camden's 20-3 run to end the first half was sparked by junior guard Jovan Childers (Bridgeton, NJ/Bridgeton), who scored seven points. Junior forward/center Michelle Obasi (Camden, NJ/Camden Catholic) added the last five points of the run for the Raptors.
 
Childers, in her first year with the Scarlet Raptors, finished with a game-high 24 points. She tied her Rutgers-Camden career high set against both King's College (Dec. 1) and Hunter College (Dec. 30). She also notched seven rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots.
 
Obasi notched her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while senior center Caroline Santiago (Buena, NJ/Buena Regional) added 10 rebounds to help the Raptors hold a 50-47 edge off the boards.
 
Freshman guard Fatimah Williams (Camden, NJ/Timber Creek) collected nine points for the Raptors.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 25-for-68 (36.8 percent) from the field and 14-for-20 (70.0) from the foul line, but also made 10 more turnovers than Kean (21-11). The Cougars were 29-for-80 (36.3) from the field and 19-for-25 (76.0) from the line.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Wednesday with a 5:30 p.m. NJAC game at Ramapo College.