WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (Jan. 14, 2019) – The Rutgers University-Camden women's basketball team placed four players in double figures, built a big lead and hung on to record their fourth straight victory as they defeated Wilkes University, 90-82, in a non-conference game here Monday night.
 
Rutgers-Camden improves to 10-6 overall, while Wilkes falls to 5-9.
 
After Wilkes scored the first three points of the game, Rutgers-Camden rattled off the next nine, sparked by a pair of foul shots from sophomore guard Shane Holmes. Junior guard Fatimah Williams, who was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Week earlier in the day on Monday, put the Scarlet Raptors ahead with back-to-back layups, making it a 6-3 game, and freshman guard Wykira Johnson-Kelly capped the run with a three-pointer.
 
Rutgers-Camden built its lead to 24-16 after one quarter and 46-29 by halftime as it appeared ready to cruise to the victory. Wilkes, however, chipped away at its deficit in the third quarter by hitting seven of nine three-point attempts. Trailing by as many as 17 points (56-39), the Colonels surged back into the game and they rattled off the last six points to end the third quarter down by five, 67-62. Wilkes surged into a 74-71 lead early in the fourth quarter on back-to-back treys by freshman forward Stef Kramer and senior guard Gab Giordano, their first lead since a 3-2 advantage.
 
Moments later, Raptor senior guard Gabby Greene tied the game with a trey and she added a pair of free throws 29 seconds later, putting the Scarlet Raptors ahead, 76-74. Giordano countered with a trey to give Wilkes a 77-76 advantage, Williams hit a jumper as Rutgers-Camden regained the lead and junior center Gianna Roberts put the Colonels back on top, 79-78, with a layup.
 
With 2:52 remaining in the contest, Williams put the Scarlet Raptors ahead to stay with a layup and Holmes followed with another layup, making it an 82-79 game. After a Wilkes foul shot, Johnson-Kelly padded the Raptors' lead to 84-80 on a layup with 1:10 remaining. The Raptors closed out the scoring with a 6-2 run as Holmes went 4-for-4 and Greene went 2-for-2 from the line in the final 43 seconds.
 
Greene finished the night with game highs of 22 points and six steals for the Scarlet Raptors. Williams and Holmes each netted 20 points and Johnson-Kelly added 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Holmes, pictured above, set a career high with her 20 points, breaking her old mark of 13, which came against William Paterson University Feb. 10, 2018. She also added three rebounds and a team-high five assists, while shooting 5-for-9 from the floor and 9-for-11 from the foul line.

The game marked the 90th career contest for Raptor senior guard/forward Ariel Robinson, making her the 17th player in program history to reach that milestone. Robinson finished with two points and two rebounds.
 
Kramer, Roberts and sophomore guard Maddie Kelley scored 12 points apiece for Wilkes, while sophomore guard Vanessa Whitecavage and senior forward Ashley Caster added 10 apiece. Giordano finished with nine points and a game-high seven assists, while tying Whitecavage with a team-high six rebounds.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 31-for-69 (44.9 percent) from the floor and 19-for-21 (90.5) from the foul line, while forcing 25 Wilkes turnovers. Wilkes shot 29-for-54 (53.7) from the floor and 13-for-22 (59.1) from the foul line, while holding a 39-29 advantage off the boards.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to New Jersey Athletic Conference action on Wednesday when it plays a 6 p.m. game at Rowan University.