Mahwah, NJ: The Ramapo College women's basketball team earned their first win of the 2008-2009 season tonight playing host to the Cougars of Medgar Evers, at the Annual Roadrunner Tip-Off Tournament. At the Bradley Center, Ramapo defeated the Cougars, 63-28, to improve to 1-2 overall, behind 15 points from sophomore Stephanie Cannizzaro (Pequannock, NJ). Medgar opens the season at 0-1. In the first match-up of the night, Brooklyn defeated Newbury, 81-56.

Cannizzaro finished the night with 15 points and nine rebounds shooting 6-12 from the field. Beth Weinmann (Pompton Plains, NJ) added 13 points and six rebounds and Tiffany China (West Orange, NJ) contributed seven points in the win. Senior guard Lauren Moschel (Fair Lawn, NJ) dished out a team high five assists in the game. The Roadrunners combined hitting 23-68 (34%) in the win.

Tabrese Harris (Brooklyn, NY) led the Cougars with 16 points and ten boards while Shauntelle Nelson (Queens, NY) contributed six points on the night. Medgar Evers shot 11-48 (23%).

The Roadrunners would fall behind, 2-0 to open the game and after the tying basket from Lindsey Gripenburg (Bloomingdale, NJ), and the go ahead basket from Cannizzaro, the team never looked back, leading by as many as 15 over the course of the half. With 11 minutes to play, Cannizzaro hit a three pointer to give the Roadrunners a ten point, 18-8 edge, and after a turnover by Medgar Evers, Gripenburg hit a jumper to go up, 20-8. The Roadrunners went up 23-8 before a basket from Harris put the Cougars in double-digit points. Over the next nine minutes, Ramapo held a slight edge over Medgar, scoring ten points to their eight, heading into the intermission with a 33-18 lead. Ramapo combined sinking 12 baskets on 32 attempts (38%) while Medgar shot 8-22 (36%). Cannizzaro was Ramapo's leading scorer in the half shooting 4-9 from the field, including three three-pointers, for 11 points. Harris led the Cougars with 12 in the first 20 minutes of play.

In the opening five minutes of the second half, the Roadrunners held Medgar to two points forcing six turnovers. Ramapo recorded 13 points in the same time frame taking a 46-20 lead with just over 15 minutes to go. Weinmann recorded eight of the team's 13, including a jumper at 17:51 which sparked a 13-0 run, topped off by a three-pointer from Alexandra Brown (Somerset, NJ), to go up 53-20. In the final 11 minutes of the game, Ramapo outscored Medgar by a slim, 10-8 to earn the 35 point, 63-28 victory. Weinmann led the Roadrunners in the second half with eight points as the team hit 11-36 (31%) form the field. Medgar only hit three field goals in the final 20 minutes of play.


The Roadrunners return to action tomorrow when they face off with Brooklyn College at 3:00 PM in the championship game while Newbury takes on Medgar Evers at 1:00 PM in the consolation match-up.

Brooklyn 81-Newbury 56
In the first game of the night, the Bridges of Brooklyn College defeated the Nighthawks of Newbury College, 81-56 earning their second win of the 2008-2009 season. Megan Davidson (Brooklyn, NY) led Brooklyn with 15 points shooting 5-7 while Christina Belfiore (Staten Island, NY) and Jasmine Campbell (Copiague, NY) contributed 11 and ten points respectively. Justine O'Callahan (Floral Park, NY) pulled down a team high ten rebounds. The Bridges hit 40% (30-75) of their shots while the Nighthawks hit 17-51 (33%) in the game. Ashley Monteiro (Cambridge, MA) posted a team high 14 points and Katelyn Mark (Quincy, MA) contributed ten with a team high two steals. Monteiro went 8-11 from the charity stripe.