MONTCLAIR, N.J. (Feb. 13, 2019) – The Rutgers University-Camden women's basketball team did all it could here Wednesday night to move up in the pairings for the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament. After beating Montclair State University, 64-54, however, the Scarlet Raptors needed other games to fall their way, and when all the dominoes didn't fall exactly, the Scarlet Raptors were left as the fifth seed. They will play a first-round game at 7 p.m. Saturday at No. 4 seed Rutgers-Newark.
 
NJAC bracket
 
Rutgers-Camden and Rutgers-Newark split their season series, 1-1, with both teams winning on their home court.
 
Facing a perennial NJAC power that finished third in the NJAC regular-season this year, the Scarlet Raptors took care of business early against Montclair State, ripping off an 11-point run in the first quarter to take the lead for good. The win lifted Rutgers-Camden to 15-10 overall and 10-8 in the conference, while Montclair State fell to 16-9 and 12-6.
 
Montclair State leads the all-time series, 44-17, but this season marked the first time since the 2002-03 campaign that Rutgers-Camden defeated the Red Hawks in both regular-season NJAC contests.
 
The teams swapped the lead early in the first quarter before the Red Hawks built their largest lead at 6-2. Raptor senior guard Gabby Greene, on her way to a big night, hit the first of her five treys to cut the gap to 6-5. After Montclair State added a field goal to make it 8-5, Greene hit another trey, tying the game and sparking an 11-point Scarlet Raptor run. Junior guard Fatimah Williams hit a pair of field goals in the run, while freshman guard Wykira Johnson-Kelly and freshman forward Breanna Ettrick both added one, giving the Scarlet Raptors a 16-8 lead.
 
Rutgers-Camden built its lead to 32-15 midway through the second quarter before settling for a 36-23 halftime lead. Montclair State, however, quickly cut the gap to start the second half, scoring the first eight points of the third quarter to make it a 36-31 contest.
 
The Red Hawks closed to within three points late in the third quarter (42-39 and 44-41) before the Raptors went on a six-point run to end the frame. Greene had a trey and a foul shot in that run, while senior guard/forward Ariel Robinson capped the quarter with a layup, making it a 50-41 game. The Red Hawks never came closer than six points in the final quarter.
 
Greene finished the night with 20 points, including 5-for-11 shooting from three-point range. Johnson-Kelly notched 17 points and six steals, while Williams added 13 points and eight rebounds. Robinson finished with six points and seven boards and sophomore guard Shane Holmes collected six points, five rebounds and four assists.
 
For Montclair State, senior forward Domonique Wirsing collected a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Alex McKinnon had 10 points and six rebounds, while sophomore guard Cerys MacLelland collected eight boards and six points.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 21-for-52 (40.4 percent) from the floor, including 6-for-17 (35.3) from three-point range, sparked by Greene's marksmanship. Greene, pictured above, raised her program-record three-point field goal total to 279, a stunning 107 more than the next closest player in program history.
 
Montclair State shot 19-for-48 (39.6) from the floor, but only 5-for-23 (21.7) from three-point range.
 
The Red Hawks won the battle of the boards, 37-30, but had 20 turnovers, while Rutgers-Camden had only seven.