Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics
The Ramapo College women’s basketball team secured a key NJAC road win against Stockton University, 60-53, on Saturday, Dec. 7. The team proved their strength with this comeback victory, and they improved to an 8-1 overall record and 2-1 in the NJAC.
Ramapo made an amazing comeback to claim the win on Saturday; the two halves felt like completely different games.
Stockton got on the board within the first 30 seconds of the game and continued on a 9-0 run. Ramapo’s first two points were secured by junior Alie Wickersheim, who netted two back-to-back free throws about a minute apart (7:01 and 6:08).
Ramapo gained some momentum with a few shots put out by senior Jenna Harsh: a good jumper in the paint at 5:18 followed by a three-pointer at 4:02. However, the Osprey’s continued scoring and the Roadrunners still trailed, ending the first period down by nine, 17-8.
At the start of the second, both teams traded baskets. With 5:47 left on the clock, Wickersheim would sink another free throw, sending the team on an 8-3 run where her and senior Abbegail Wildin would collect four points apiece. The gap was minimized to 26-20 with a little over a minute left in the period, 1:10. Sophomore Sara Minchin closed out the first half after grabbing two points on a pair of free throws, leaving Ramapo to trail by six, 28-22 at the buzzer.
The Lady Roadrunners came out of the locker room hungry for a win, and this is when the action really took place.
The Osprey’s snuck in a few more baskets at the start of the third, but Ramapo responded by collecting six straight points. The mini run started at 8:54 when senior Samantha Rinaldi nailed a layup, followed by another off a fast break at 8:28.
With a little under eight minutes left in the period, Ramapo came so close to tying it up, only down by one, 29-28. The lead was stretched again when Stockton countered and stole an additional eight points to stretch the lead 37-28.
Harsh was not willing to lose: she capitalized and collected an additional four points within the next minute. Senior Cherie Smedile topped off the period after netting three three-pointers starting at 4:23, with the last one sinking at the buzzer. The third closed with Ramapo leading by two, 41-39 with only ten minutes left in the game.
In the final period, the Lady Roadrunners held it down, never giving up their lead even when it came close. Baskets were exchanged by both teams, yet Ramapo ended on a good note, with a 5-0 run to secure their NJAC victory. Two of the five were put out by Rinaldi, as senior Stacey Porzl hit three of the four free throws she was given at the charity stripe.
In the end, Ramapo walked away with a comeback victory, 60-53.
For the game, the team shot 36% (19-52) from the field, 41% (5-12) from the three-point line and 60% (17-28) from the free throw line. The team scored 19 points off turnovers and earned six fast break points in addition to three second chance points.
Harsh racked up the most points for the Roadrunners, recording 18 including two three-pointers and also collected two rebounds. Wickersheim tacked on 11 points total and six rebounds of her own.
Ramapo’s women’s basketball team only loss this season took place earlier in the month, against NJAC rival Montclair State University.
The Roadrunners will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 11 when they travel to Union to face the Cougars of Kean University for an NJAC evening game at 6:00 p.m.
ksutphin@ramapo.edu
