GALLOWAY, N.J. (Nov. 23, 2021) – The Stockton University women's basketball team outscored Rutgers University-Camden, 31-25, in the final two quarters, breaking a 22-22 halftime deadlock, on the way to a 53-47 victory here Tuesday night in the New Jersey Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
 
Stockton evens its record at 3-3 overall, while Rutgers-Camden falls to 0-3.
 
The Ospreys have won their last five games against the Scarlet Raptors and lead the all-time series, 65-22.
 
Rutgers-Camden regained the lead early in the third quarter on a jumper and a free throw by freshman guard Rahzirah Blocker, making it a 25-22 game. After Stockton cut the margin to one point, sophomore forward Carleigh Galasso hit a trey to give the Raptors their biggest lead of the game at 28-24.
 
Stockton rattled off the next six points, including four by freshman guard Madison LaRosa, who was named the NJAC Rookie of the Week on Monday. That run gave the Ospreys a 30-28 lead, but Raptor junior guard Jalissa Pitta tied the game for the last time on a layup.
 
The Ospreys scored the next six points, taking the lead for good at 33-30 on a trey by senior guard Grace Sacco. Stockton opened up a lead as large as 43-32 by the end of the third quarter and, although the Scarlet Raptors sliced their deficit to four points (49-45) late in the fourth quarter, LaRosa scored three points in the last minute to thwart the Rutgers-Camden comeback.
 
Opening the game, the Ospreys took early leads of 8-1 and 10-4 before the Scarlet Raptors rallied behind a pair of foul shots from Blocker and a trey from sophomore guard Amara Eley, cutting their deficit to 10-9. They trailed, 12-9, after one quarter, but quickly tied the game to open the second quarter on a three-pointer by Pitts.
 
Rutgers-Camden took its first lead of the game, 14-12, on a jumper by Blocker and the two teams battled to a 22-22 halftime deadlock.
 
Blocker scored nine first-half points for the Scarlet Raptors, while Pitts added eight. LaRosa and sophomore guard Emma Morrone, had six points apiece for the Ospreys in the opening half.
 
LaRosa finished with 20 points, tying the Raptors' Blocker for game-high honors. Sacco and Morrone both added 10 points for the Ospreys, while senior forward Nalya Hill had eight rebounds. Morrone added a game-high five steals.
 
In addition to Blocker, Rutgers-Camden received 14 points from Pitts, who barely missed a double-double by adding nine rebounds. Junior forward Salina Jones hauled down a game-high 10 boards as Rutgers-Camden held a 39-31 advantage off the glass. The Raptors, however, also made 30 turnovers.
 
Stockton shot 20-for-61 ((32.8 percent) from the floor, while Rutgers-Camden was 16-for-38 (42.1).
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action Saturday with a 1 p.m. non-conference game at Gallaudet University.