Union NJ: The Kean University women's basketball team used a strong first quarter lead and held off a Ramapo comeback to earn a 68-64 win today at Hardwood Arena. The Cougars move to 6-5 overall and 4-1 in the NJAC while the Roadrunners now stand at 6-3 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
Ramapo was up 7-3 early in the first quarter before Kean would outscore the Roadrunners the rest of the way 23-9. The Cougars hit five three-pointers in the quarter while Sarah Olivero collected 14 points in the stretch. The Roadrunners battled back through the rest of the second quarter before the Cougars took a 40-28 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
Kean held a double digit lead for most of the third quarter while Ramapo cut the lead to seven twice. Lindsey Ross scored a jumper with 7:08 on the clock 35-42 before Kean went on a mini 6-1 run to extend the lead to 48-36 with just over five minutes left in the quarter.
Jada Thompson took the Roadrunners on an 8-5 run of her own, scoring all eight points down the stretch as they closed out the quarter down, 44-53. Kean opened fourth on a 6-0 run to push the lead to 59-44 as the Cougars held onto a double digit lead until Ramapo went on a run of their own. With 4:17 on the clock
Bridget Cahill sank a three-pointer for Ramapo which started a 10-0 run. Cahill collected two three-pointers during the run while Thompson and
Alie Wickersheim each scored two points. The run was capped off by another Cahill three-pointer which brought Ramapo within five, 57-62, with 2:17 left in the game. The Cougars were able to hold onto lead down the stretch while the final six points for Kean and eight points for Ramapo came with under 25 seconds to play in the game. The two teams traded baskets before Shannon McCoy sank a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left before Cahill sank her fifth three-pointer of the game to come within four with five seconds on the clock. Graff once again sank a pair of free throws for Kean to extend their lead back to six before
Olivia Johnstone scored the final points of the game for Ramapo at the buzzer with a three-pointer.
Thompson and Cahill both led the team in scoring this afternoon. Thompson posted 20 points finishing 10-19 from the field while she grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists. Cahill posted 17 points, including five three-pointers, while she collected five rebounds, one assist, one block and two steals. Wickersheim posted a team high ten rebounds while she added seven points and three assists. Johnstone and
Jackie Ventricelli added seven and five points respectively. The team shot 33% (25-75) from the field, 25% (7-27) from the three-point line and 61% (8-13) from the free throw line. The Ramapo defense forced 22 Cougar turnovers in the game which led to 13 points for the Roadrunners.
Three players scored in double figures for Kean as they were led by Olivero who connected on six three-pointers while she finished with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists. Kayla Anderson collected a double double, 13 points and 12 rebounds while McCoy added 11 points and seven rebounds. The team shot 40% (22-55) from the field, 40% (9-22) from the three-point line and 68% (15-22) from the free throw line.
The Roadrunners return to action on Wednesday, December, 29th when they host Swarthmore College at the Bradley Center at 1pm.
