Box Score

Newark, NJ --- The Brooklyn College Women's Basketball team had its two-game winning streak snapped by the Scarlet Raiders of Rutgers-Newark earlier tonight, as the Bulldogs fell 65-40 in a non-conference match at the Golden Dome Arena in Newark, NJ.

With the loss, BC drops to 8-5 overall on the season, while Rutgers-Newark improves to 11-3 overall on the year.

The Bulldogs were led by senior guard Lauren Plagainos, who netted a team-high 13 points connecting on 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.  Senior forward Justine O'Callahan added eight points, while junior center Tiffany Thompson grabbed eight rebounds. Freshman guard Nicole Francomano chipped in with six points and three assists, while classmate Sarah Shanderson contributed with five points playing in just four minutes coming off the bench.

The Scarlet Raiders were led by Kendra Johnson who dropped a game-high 27 points on 10-15 shooting from the field, including going 6-for-9 from three. Johnson also dished out five assists.  Brittany Smith added nine points and five steals, while ShaQuanna Marshall recorded eight rebounds, to go with eight points and five assists coming off the bench. Lori Nieves also finished the night with eight points.

Following a jumper from BC's O'Callahan to open the scoring, Rutgers-Newark jumped out on a 16-0 run to open a 14-point lead, 16-2, their largest of the half, with 14:21 remaining in the period. A steal and fast break layup by Francomano ended the Scarlet Raiders run, making it 16-4 at the 13:42 mark.

The Bulldogs would continue to chip away at their deficit and eventually cut Rutgers-Newark's lead to four, 20-16, with 5:08 left before the halftime intermission, on a three-pointer from Plagainos. However, that's as close as Brooklyn would get the rest of the half, as the Scarlet Raiders would eventually take an eight-point halftime lead, 30-22.

The second half started the same as the first, as O'Callahan one again opened the scoring with a jumper to make it 30-24 (19:39) in favor of the home team. Rutgers-Newark would quickly answer with a three-pointer from Johnson and a jumper from Nieves to put the Scarlet Raiders back up by double figures, 35-24 (18:04).

A Plagainos three would cut Brooklyn's deficit to eight, 35-27, with 17:52 remaining in the game; however, that's as close as the Bulldogs would get the rest of the way, as Rutgers-Newark iced the game on a 26-5 run to take a 61-32 advantage with 7:10 left in the game. The Scarlet Raiders would go on to cruise to their 65-40 victory, extending their winning streak to four straight.

For the game, BC shot 35.4% (17-48) from the field, including going 4-12 (33.3%) from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs also struggled from the line shooting 20.0% (2-10).

Rutgers-Newark shot 49.1% (27-55) from the field, including 50.0% (8-16) from three and 42.9% (3-7) from the charity stripe.

The Scarlet Raiders held the slim rebounding edge 36-30 and also forced BC into 26 turnovers, while also totaling 17 steals.

Brooklyn will return to action on Wednesday, January 11th, as the Bulldogs will play host to Albertus Magnus College in a non-conference match. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 pm at the West Quad Center.