NEWARK, N.J. (Nov. 26, 2024) – The Rutgers University-Camden women's basketball team ran the gamut of emotions in its New Jersey Athletic Conference opener here Tuesday night.
After going from the highs of a 17-2 first-quarter start to the lows of trailing with under one minute remaining, the Scarlet Raptors escaped with a 78-73 victory over NJAC rival Rutgers-Newark.
The Scarlet Raptors improved to 4-2 overall, breaking a two-game losing streak. They stand at 1-0 in NJAC play for the first time since winning their conference opener during the 2016-17 season.
The Scarlet Raiders fell to 3-4, snapping their three-game winning streak. They are 0-1 in conference play.
Rutgers-Newark leads the all-time series, 45-35.
Camden went on a 14-point run during a 5:24 span in the opening quarter, turning a 3-2 lead into a 17-2 advantage and seemingly taking control of the game. Senior guard
Lanae Johnson-Kleinpeter led the run with five points, while freshman forward
Courtney Edmundo added four points.
By the end of the opening quarter, the Scarlet Raptors held a 19-6 lead, but the second quarter flipped the script. Newark stormed back to cut its halftime deficit to 33-31, and the Scarlet Raiders quickly took the lead at the start of the third quarter. They tied the game on a jumper by sophomore guard Arienny Medina and went ahead, 35-33, on a layup by junior guard Quanajah Felder.
The game remained close the rest of the way, with Rutgers-Camden holding a 53-52 advantage at the end of the third quarter and Newark eventually grabbing a 69-68 lead on a jumper by Felder with 1:18 remaining.
Following a pair of missed Raptor foul shots and a defensive rebound by the Scarlet Raiders, Johnson-Kleinpeter stole the ball, leading to a Raptor timeout with 58 seconds remaining. The Scarlet Raptors came out of the break to take the lead when freshman guard
Mya Patino drained a clutch three-pointer with 47 seconds left.
After a Newark miss, Edmundo grabbed the rebound, was fouled and hit a pair of free throws with 36 seconds remaining, making it a 73-69 game. Newark senior forward Tracey Ilderis cut the gap to 73-71 with a jumper with 31 seconds left, but freshman guard
Hope Goodwine nailed three foul shots over the next 20 seconds to give the Scarlet Raptors a 76-71 lead. Ilderis and Edmundo both had a pair of foul shots in the last few seconds for the final score.
Senior guard
Na'Caia Jackson paced the Scarlet Raptors with 22 points and four steals, while adding seven rebounds and three assists. Edmundo notched her third Raptor double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Patino had 12 points, aided by 3-for-7 shooting from three-point range, including the go-ahead trey in the last minute.
Goodwine dished off a game-high six assists, while adding seven points and six rebounds.
Medina and Ilderis both scored 17 points for Rutgers-Newark, while Felder added 15. Ilderis completed a double-double with 13 rebounds. Medina had a game-high six steals and added five assists.
Rutgers-Camden shot 24-for-66 (36.4 percent) from the floor and 23-for-34 (67.6) from the foul line. Rutgers-Newark went 31-for-92 (33.7) from the floor and 10-for-20 (50.0) from the foul line. The Scarlet Raptors held a 60-52 advantage off the boards.
Rutgers-Camden plays another NJAC game on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. when it visits Rowan University.
