MAHWAH, NJ (Jan. 25, 2025) – Junior Taja Brown hit a jumper and added a foul shot with five seconds remaining in overtime as the Rutgers University-Camden women's basketball team outlasted Ramapo College, 70-68, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday afternoon.
 
With their second straight win, the Scarlet Raptors improved to 8-10 overall and 4-7 in the NJAC. Ramapo fell to 2-16 and 1-10.
 
Trailing, 56-47, with 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Scarlet Raptors scored the next six points and eventually tied the game at 58-58 on a trey by freshman guard Hope Goodwine with 2:04 remaining in regulation. After the Roadrunners took a 60-58 lead on a layup by freshman guard Damiya Graham, the Scarlet Raptors tied the game on a jumper by senior guard Rahzirah Blocker. With neither team able to hit a shot to decide the game in the last minute, the game went to overtime tied at 60-60.
 
A trey by Goodwine helped the Scarlet Raptors get off to a 63-60 lead in the extra session, but the teams traded leads down the stretch. Graham's jumper gave Ramapo a 66-65 lead, but a layup by Raptor freshman forward Courtney Edmundo flipped the lead to a 67-66 Rutgers-Camden advantage with 2:51 remaining. Ramapo regained the lead with 1:53 left on a pair of foul shots by senior center Alison Ahern.
 
After a miss by Ahern with 27 seconds remaining, the Scarlet Raptors collected the rebound. With five seconds remaining, the Raptors missed a three-point attempt, but Brown grabbed the rebound, hit the go-ahead jumper, was fouled and made her foul shot for the final margin. Ramapo missed the potential game-tying jumper at the buzzer.
 
The first half also featured numerous twists and turns. Ramapo established a 15-11 lead after one quarter and led 26-18 before Rutgers-Camden rallied late in the second quarter. The Scarlet Raptors cut their deficit to 26-25 on a pair of jumpers by Blocker and a trey from Goodwine before the Roadrunners regained a short-lived three-point lead. Rutgers-Camden tied the game at 28-28 on a trey by freshman guard Mya Patino, took the lead on a pair of free throws by Edmundo and rounded off the half with a 33-28 lead on a trey by Goodwine.
 
The Scarlet Raptors' graduate forward Aiya Underwood opened the second half with a jumper to pad the lead to 35-28, but Ramapo responded with a 10-point run to regain the lead. The Roadrunners continued their run, which saw them outscore the Scarlet Raptors, 13-4, in the third quarter to take a 41-37 lead into the final frame.
 
Goodwine paced the Scarlet Raptors with a career-high 21 points, while adding five assists and three steals. She shot 7-for-14 from three-point range, for the most treys since Gabby Greene had eight against Hood College on Nov. 18, 2018.
 
Blocker scored 17 points to push her career total to 1,302 and vault into fifth place on the program's all-time scoring list. She passed Greene (2015-19), who finished with 1,295.
 
Brown collected 13 points for Rutgers-Camden, while Patino dished off four assists and added eight points.
 
Ramapo received 19 points from sophomore guard Lauren Flatt. Ahern collected a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Jocelyn Huancaya scored 12 points and tied Goodwine with a game-high five assists, while Graham scored 10 points.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 27-for-71 (38.0 percent) from the floor and 6-for-10 (60.0) from the foul line. Ramapo shot 23-for-65 (35.4) from the floor and 13-for-18 (72.2) from the foul line, while holding a 42-39 edge off the boards.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to NJAC action on Wednesday when it hosts Rowan University at 6 p.m.