DYNASTY: NJCU Women’s Basketball Roars Past TCNJ to Win Third New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship in Four Years
EWING, N.J. | You can’t spell Dynasty without N-J-C-U! For the third time in the last four seasons, the New Jersey City University women’s basketball team are champions of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). The Gothic Knights, seeded No. 2 in the NJAC Tournament, trailed early before roaring to life late in the first quarter and gradually pulled away throughout the game as NJCU defeated top-seeded and host The College of New Jersey, 65-52, to capture the 2024 NJAC Women’s Basketball Championship in front of a sellout crowd at TCNJ’s Packer Hall on February 23.
With the win, NJCU added a 2024 trophy to the trophy case to match the pair of crowns it won in 2021 and 2022. By doing so, the women’s basketball team solidified its place in school history as the first NJCU athletics team in any sport to win three conference championships in a four-year period.
NJCU clinched the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second time in program history (2022). The Gothic Knights will learn their opponent and location of the NCAA Tournament when the NCAA selection show airs on NCAA.com on Monday, February 26 at 2:30 p.m. during a Watch Party on campus. The first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament will be held on Friday, March 1.
NJCU, the No. 3 ranked team in the NCAA Division III Region 4 rankings, improved its overall record to 19-8 record (14-4 NJAC) and won for the 10th time in its last 11 games. The Gothic Knights limited TCNJ to just 52 points — the Lions’ fourth lowest scoring effort of the season — while defeating the Lions in the fourth consecutive postseason meeting between the schools; NJCU eliminated TCNJ in the semifinals in 2021 and 2023 and defeated the Lions in the championship game in 2022 and now 2024.
NJCU was led by All-America senior guard Damaris Rodriguez (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) — who earlier in the week was voted NJAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season — who finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-22 shooting, with four assists and three steals. The all-time leading scorer in NJCU history upped her career total to 1,868 points. Sophomore guard Tahirah Kelley (Linden, N.J./Immaculate Conception) poured in the second most of any player on the night with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting in 39 minutes while playing stellar defense.
Senior forward Sarah Edmond (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) was dominant on the glass with 11 rebounds while junior guard Alaisha Mumford (Jersey City, N.J./Lincoln) contributed nine points and eight rebounds.
NJCU dominated the Lions in the paint, 42-16, and turned TCNJ’s turnovers into quick points, outscoring the Lions 16-5 on the fastbreak.
In the first quarter, TCNJ jumped out to an 8-2 lead with 6:18 remaining in the period and 10-4 with 5:40 to go, before NJCU unleashed a 7-0 run to grab an 11-10 lead on a three-point play by Kelley. When Rodriguez drilled a three-pointer with 21 seconds left to break a 15-15 tie, NJCU led 18-15 and took an 18-17 margin into the second quarter and never trailed again.
NJCU took over the game for good in the second quarter, outscoring TCNJ 19-9 in the 10-minute stretch to seize a 37-26 lead into the half. NJCU started off the quarter on an 11-3 run and then extended that to a 17-5 stretch to go up 35-22 with 2:29 to go. Overall, Rodriguez scored eight more in the quarter to end the half with 17 at halftime, while Kelley chipped in six more to total 13 over the first 20 minutes of play.
NJCU was never seriously challenged from there. The Knights built a 16-point, 42-26 lead with 7:08 remaining in the third. TCNJ tried to rally with an 11-1 run to cut the NJCU lead back to single digits at 43-37 with 4:05 left in the third. But after a timeout, the Knights answered the call with a 7-0 run to go back up by 13 at 50-37 with 1:34 on the clock before taking the 50-38 advantage into the fourth.
Behind a loud crowd of Gothic Knight supporters who traveled to Ewing to support the Green and Gold, NJCU led by double digits the rest of the night, pushing the margin to as many as 19 points (60-41 with 5:17 remaining). The bench roared onto the court in celebration when the final horn sounded as NJCU raised the trophy for the third time.
The third championship for NJCU equals William Paterson for the fifth most by one school in NJAC history — Kean (13), Rowan (8), Montclair State (7), The College of New Jersey (4), NJCU (3), William Paterson (3), Stockton (2), Rutgers-Camden (1) and Rutgers-Newark (1). Ramapo has never won an NJAC championship.
About NJCU:
New Jersey City University is a comprehensive public regional institution of higher learning located in Jersey City, N.J., dedicated to the development of our students, our city, our communities, and our state. We are a game-changing force for our students and have been recognized as one of the top colleges in the nation improving their upward economic mobility. In fact, NJCU has been ranked No. 1 in New Jersey and Top 10 in the nation in the CollegeNET Social Mobility Index for 2023. Whether enrolled in one of our undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral programs at our three locations, NJCU students have access to an affordable, diverse environment, and an exceptionally supportive faculty. This prepares them to go on to become the next generation of workers and leaders who improve their communities and the State of New Jersey.
Contact:
Ira Thor, Associate Vice President for University Communications | ithor@njcu.edu | 201-200-3301