CAMDEN. N.J. (Dec. 4, 2019) – Just when it seemed like the Rutgers University-Camden women's basketball team was going to survive after digging itself a deep hole, Stockton University came back to outlast the Scarlet Raptors, 60-55, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Wednesday night.
 
The Ospreys, who improve to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the NJAC, scored the first seven points of the game and took a 16-4 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the opening quarter. In the last 2:10 of the first quarter, however, the Scarlet Raptors went on a 7-1 run, paced by six points from senior guard Fatimah Williams and a foul shot from sophomore forward Breanna Ettrick.
 
The Scarlet Raptors (5-2 overall, 0-2 NJAC) closed to within three points (20-17) midway through the second quarter before trailing, 30-23, at halftime. It didn't take long in the third quarter for Rutgers-Camden to erase that deficit. The Raptors opened the second half with a 10-3 run, tying the game at 33-33 on a layup by Williams, which was part of a 13-point run. They took the lead moments later, 35-33, on a layup by freshman guard/forward Jalissa Pitts. Rutgers-Camden added two field goals by freshman center Kayla Newton and a foul shot by Pitts before the run ended with the Scarlet Raptors leading, 40-33.
 
Stockton, however, clawed back into the game with an 8-4 run before the Raptors closed out the third quarter, leading 46-41.
 
While the Raptors held the advantage with a 23-11 third-quarter run, it was the Ospreys who controlled the fourth quarter. Stockton outscored Rutgers-Camden, 19-9, in the final 10 minutes to pull out the win.
 
The Ospreys scored the first eight points of the quarter, with the last five produced by senior guard Lajerah Wright, who played the first two years of her collegiate career at Rutgers-Camden. That run gave the Ospreys a 49-46 lead and, although the Scarlet Raptors trimmed that margin to one point on three occasions, they never managed to regain the lead. Leading, 57-55, the Ospreys closed out the game down the stretch on a foul shot by Wright and two free throws by sophomore guard Hailee Porricelli.
 
Wright collected a double-double of 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Ospreys, while tying for game-high honors with three blocks and tying for Stockton's team high with four assists. Porricelli notched 15 points, while freshman forward Ionyonia Alves had 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
The Ospreys, who now hold a 62-22 lead over Rutgers-Camden in the all-time series, held a 51-42 advantage off the boards.
 
Rutgers-Camden received a game-high 18 points and five assists from Williams. Newton notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while tying Wright for game-high honors with three blocks. Pitts notched 10 points and nine boards for the Raptors, while Ettrick collected a career-high nine points.
 
Stockton shot 22-for-60 (36.7 percent) from the floor, including 7-for-14 (50.0) from three-point range. Rutgers-Camden was 22-for-68 (32.4) from the floor, including a 1-for-22 (4.5) performance from three-point range.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Saturday when they play a 1 p.m. NJAC game at William Paterson University.