Union, NJ:  The Kean University women's basketball team used 11 three-pointers to defeat Ramapo College 74-58 in NJAC conference action. The Cougars improve to 10-11 overall and 7-7 in the conference while the Roadrunners now stand at 9-12 overall and 4-10 in the NJAC.

The Roadrunners opened the first quarter on an 8-0 run before Kean would get on the board. Samantha Rinaldi opened the game by converting on an and-one play before Cherie Smedile made a basket of her own 5-0. Jenna Harsh would put the Roadrunners up 8-0 as she converted on an and-one play before the Cougars scored with 7:15 on the clock on a jumper from Shannon McCoy. Ramapo and Kean traded baskets before Sarah Minchin and Jessica Repasy hit a jumper and three-pointer respectively to take a 15-4 lead forcing the Cougars to take their first time out of the game. The Cougars went on a mini 7-2 run of their own capped off by a three-pointer from Casey Filiault to come within six 11-17. A layup from Alie Wickersheim put the Roadrunners up 19-11 with 1:32 left in the first quarter while the Cougars would come back to tie the game with under a minute to play with an 8-0 run, 19-19.
 
Samantha Rinaldi opened the second quarter scoring for the Roadrunners with a basket before three straight three-pointers from Kean put the Cougars up 28-21 with less than seven minutes remaining. The Roadrunners snapped the run with a basket from Jenna Harsh off a pass from Jessica Repasy 23-28 before Payce Lange made a layup for a 30-23 score with 5:20 left in the second quarter. Tia Solomon and Harsh would pull the Roadrunners within three 27-30 with back-to-back baskets with three minutes on the clock. Lange converted on a pair of free throws with 1:49 left before Harsh made a layup off a dish from Kaity Potter. Filiault sank a three-pointer for the Cougars, as they led 35-29. Neither team would covert in the final 1:15 of action as Kean took a six-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Harsh led the way for the Roadrunners with nine points in the first half while Solomon grabbed a team high six rebounds. Ramapo shot 39.4% (13-33) from the floor while they out rebounded Kean 24-16 in the first half.
 
For the Cougars, Filiault led the team with 13 points including four three-pointers in the first half while Cindy Foresta grabbed a team high six rebounds. The team shot 40.6% (13-32) from the field, 54.5% (6-11) from beyond the three-point line and 50% (3-6) from the free throw line.
 
In the third quarter, Kean opened with a 7-0 run to extend their lead 42-29 before the Roadrunners would get a pair of free throws from Solomon 31-42. Lange put in a basket for the Cougars 44-31 with less than eight minutes on the clock before Harsh put one in for the Roadrunners 33-44 with 7:05 on the clock. Back-to-back three-pointers from McCoy and Foresta put the Cougars up 50-33 before Ramapo cut the lead to eight as they went on a 9-0 run of their own 42-50. McCoy sank a three-pointer for Kean 53-42 with just over three minutes left to play in the quarter. The two teams traded a pair of free throws before Sarah Olivero connected on a layup for a 58-44 lead with 2:21 on the clock. Harsh sank a three-pointer for Ramapo before Oakley pushed the score 60-47 with a made basket 1:17 left. Both teams tallied one free throw in the final minute of action as Kean led 61-48 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Kean opened the fourth with a made basket before Solomon tallied back-to-back baskets for Ramapo. Filiault then sank a three-pointer for Kean to take a 66-52 lead with 3:06 left in the game forcing Ramapo to take a timeout before each team put in six points in the final 2:45 of the game as Kean led 66-58. Oakley would make the final basket of the game as the Cougars defeated Ramapo 74-58.
 
Harsh led the Roadrunners in the game with 22 points and nine rebounds while Rinaldi posted nine points, six rebounds, and a team high five assists. Smedile posted seven points while Solomon added eight points and eight rebounds. The team shot 35% (23-65) from the field, 26.7% (4-15) from the three-point line and 88.9% (8-9) from the free throw line.
 
Kean had four players score in double figures in the game as McCoy led the way with 24 points while Filiault recorded 16 points including five three-pointers. Oakley and Lange tallied 13 and 12 points respectively. Foresta grabbed a team high ten rebounds while Oakley dished out a team high four assists. The team shot 46.7% (28-60) from the field, 57.9% (11-19) from the three-point line and 63.6% (7-11) from the free throw line.
 
The Roadrunners return to action on Saturday, February 2nd when they host the College of New Jersey in a NJAC conference game at 1pm. Ramapo will play in their annual Play4Kay game with donations going towards the Kay Yow Foundation. You can donate today, please click here: https://pledgeit.org/ramapocollege-play4kay.