CAMDEN, N.J. (Jan. 31, 2022) – When the Rutgers University-Camden women's basketball team closed out the first half of Monday's New Jersey Athletic Conference game with a 15-2 run, the Scarlet Raptors headed into the break with a five-point lead and plenty of momentum.
 
Rutgers University-Newark, however, flipped the switch in the second half, outscoring the Scarlet Raptors 43-28, on its way to a 77-67 victory in a makeup game postponed from Saturday by a blizzard.
 
The victory lifts the Scarlet Raiders to 4-13 overall and 2-11 in the NJAC, avenging an early-season loss to the Scarlet Raptors up in Newark. The loss drops Rutgers-Camden to 2-12 overall and 1-12 in the NJAC.
 
Newark leads the all-time series, 43-32.
 
Trailing by a 32-24 count late in the second quarter, the Scarlet Raptors rallied for a 39-34 halftime lead. Freshman guard Rahzirah Blocker sparked the 15-2 Raptor run with a pair of foul shots and scored six points in the stretch.
 
Camden's lead didn't last long in the third quarter. Newark stormed back to tie the game at 45-45 on a jumper by freshman forward Fancy Javier, who was fouled on the play. She made her foul shot to give Newark the lead for good, 46-45. Her three-point play was part of an eight-point run that took Newark from a 45-43 deficit to a 51-45 lead. By the end of the quarter, the Scarlet Raiders held a 57-50 lead and they increased that margin to as many as 13 points (69-56) in the final frame.
 
Junior guard Samiyah Horton notched a game-high 23 points for the Scarlet Raiders, while senior guard Syncere Lambert scored 14. Sophomore guard Brya Byrd netted 11 points, while junior forward Ebony Odom Barnes collected a double-double of 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
Newark shot 29-for-65 (44.6 percent) from the floor despite only shooting 3-for-17 (17.6) from three-point range. The Scarlet Raiders also held a 49-31 advantage off the boards.
 
Blocker led the Scarlet Raptors with 22 points, while sophomore guard Jania Pitts scored 16. Junior guard Jalissa Pitts added 14 points and team highs of six rebounds and four assists. Jania Pitts and sophomore forward Carleigh Galasso shared team-high honors with four steals.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 25-for-60 (41.7) from the floor, including 4-for-8 (50.0) from three-point range. Jania Pitts hit three of those treys in four attempts.
 
Rutgers-Camden plays a 7:30 p.m. NJAC game Wednesday at Rowan University.