CAMDEN, N.J. (Jan. 9, 2019) – A stellar defensive effort allowed the Rutgers University-Camden women's basketball team to accomplish something here Wednesday night that it hadn't done in nearly 16 years.
 
Rutgers-Camden forced 20 turnovers and held Montclair State University to only 14-for-54 shooting (25.9 percent) from the floor as the Scarlet Raptors defeated the Red Hawks, 57-45, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
 
Montclair State, which falls to 10-5 overall and 6-2 in the NJAC, had won the previous 24 contests against Rutgers-Camden and entered the game with a 44-15 lead in the all-time series. The Scarlet Raptors, now 8-6 overall and 4-4 in the conference, hadn't defeated the Red Hawks since a 74-56 victory in Montclair on Feb. 12, 2003.
 
In limiting Montclair State to 45 points, they held the Red Hawks to their third-lowest point total of the season, tying with another output during a 57-45 loss to Albright College Dec. 20. The Red Hawks' lowest total came in their only other NJAC loss, a 58-42 defeat against conference-leading The College of New Jersey on Dec. 8. Their second-lowest output came in a 46-44 loss to St. Lawrence Nov. 17.
 
In a low-scoring first half, the Scarlet Raptors led, 8-7, after one quarter and opened up a 26-17 halftime lead. Junior guard Fatimah Williams had 14 first-half points for Rutgers-Camden, while freshman guard Wykira Johnson-Kelly had five rebounds. For the Red Hawks, sophomore guards Taylor Brown and Cerys MacLelland had five points apiece, while junior forward Alex McKinnon led the way with eight rebounds.
 
Montclair State shot only 6-for-27 (22.2 percent) from the floor in the opening half, while Rutgers-Camden was only 10-for-30 (33.3). For the game, the Raptors shot 19-for-58 (32.8).
 
After McKinnon opened the second half with a layup to slice the Lions' deficit to 26-19, the Raptors' Johnson-Kelly was fouled making a layup. She tacked on a free throw to expand the gap to 10 points, 29-19. Although Montclair State managed to slice its deficit to 37-34 entering the fourth quarter, Rutgers-Camden didn't wilt against the perennial NJAC powerhouse.
 
Leading, 42-38, early in the final quarter, the Raptors went on a 9-1 run to hike their advantage to 51-39 with 3:04 remaining. Johnson-Kelly had four points in that run, while senior guard Gabby Greene notched three and senior guard/forward Ariel Robinson added two. The closest Montclair State came after that was eight points, at 51-43.
 
Williams finished with 18 points, while Greene and Johnson-Kelly both added 17. Johnson-Kelly, pictured above, led the Scarlet Raptors with nine rebounds and tied Greene with a game-high four steals. Greene finished with a team-high three assists.
 
Brown and freshman guard Julia Sutton scored 10 points apiece to lead Montclair State. McKinnon finished with eight points and game-high totals of four assists and 15 rebounds.
 
Montclair State held a 51-37 advantage off the boards, but also had 10 more turnovers (20-10) than the Scarlet Raptors.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Saturday with another NJAC home game. The Scarlet Raptors host New Jersey City University at 1 p.m.