The Ramapo College women’s basketball team secured their first New Jersey Athletic Conference victory of the season, 67-61, against the Stockton University Ospreys last Saturday, Dec. 1.
Taking place right on campus in the Bradley Center, the Roadrunners improved their record to 5-2 overall and added a victory to their NJAC record, making it 1-2.
The Roadrunners began the game with a hot start after being awarded two free throws within the first 30 seconds of the period. After junior Samantha Rinaldi sank both shots, the momentum was up and Ramapo was off to a good start.
The first half persisted with Ramapo leading the whole way, with the biggest deficit being 11 points after junior Jenna Harsh put up a jumper in the paint for two points at 4:50, bringing the score to 15-4.
The Ospreys managed to collect some points in the next four minutes, only trailing by two, 15-17, at the commencement of the first period.
The Ospreys showed they were ready to compete in the second period as they stole 11 points in a little over three minutes. The Roadrunners were trailing for a portion of the period, but managed to come back by the time the buzzer rang.
Both teams ended up recording 18 points for the second period, leaving Stockton to stay at two points behind Ramapo. For the half, Ramapo hit 8-23 (34.78 percent) field goals and shot 17-24 (70.83 percent) free throws.
Heading into the second half up by two, the Roadrunners put up a high intensity battle with a scoreless first three minutes of playing time. Senior Tia Solomon closed out the period by nailing a free throw, giving Ramapo a nine-point lead, 47-38, heading into the final period of the game.
In the fourth period, Stockton scored three more points than Ramapo, but despite this, Ramapo still came out on top. It was close at the end, with the Ospreys slowly creeping in on the Roadrunner lead. Stockton hit a three pointer to tie the game at 61, with only 1:10 left to play.
Solomon then gained the lead back for Ramapo by scoring back to back points. The center nailed a layup in the paint, and then immediately followed it with a sunken free throw for a total of three points. From there, Ramapo was awarded three more free throws, and by hitting all three the team bumped the final score to 67-61.
For the second half, Ramapo posted 10-29 (34.48 percent) from the field and collected 9-12 (75.00 percent) free throws.
Overall, Solomon led the women’s basketball team with 22 points in 22 minutes of playing time. She also led in rebounds with 14 for the double-double, and was even the team leader in blocks with five.
Other scorers included Rinaldi contributing 11 points for the game, followed by Harsh who added 10 points, and junior Stacey Porzl, who tallied seven points. Porzl also recorded the team high of five assists, and played for 33 minutes.
The Ramapo College women’s basketball team did an excellent job at gaining an NJAC win, hitting 18-52 (34.6 percent) from the field, while their opponent Stockton University recorded 20-63 (31.7 percent) total field goals for the game.
The women’s basketball is traveling to Glassboro, New Jersey this weekend where they will meet and face off against Rowan University on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 3 p.m.
ksutphin@ramapo.edu