Box Score

NEWARK, N.J. - The Mount Saint Mary College women's basketball team fell to Rutgers-Newark, 67-48, in a non-conference tilt on Monday night. With the loss, the Mount drops to 1-3, while the Scarlet Raiders improve to 3-1.

After the Scarlet Raiders scored the first bucket of the game, the Knights used a 9-0 run to take a seven point lead, 9-2, just four minutes into the contest. At the 10:04 mark the Knights pushed ahead by 11 behind a three pointer by senior Charneice McCullough (Wyandanch, N.Y.).

Led by a combined nine points from sophomore Jade Howard (Sicklersville, N.J.) and freshman Laura Shakiri (Wayne, N.J.), the Scarlet Raiders took the lead with a 13-0 run of their own.  Mount sophomore Amanda Smith (Dayton, Ohio) knocked down a jumper with 3:14 on the clock to knot things up, 23-23, but Rutgers-Newark closed out the half on a 7-0 run to regain the lead.

A conventional 3-point play by Knight sophomore forward Rottisha Lewis (Norwalk, Conn.) and a layup by junior forward Rachel Perrone (Poughquag, N.Y.) whittled the Raider lead to 30-28 during the opening minutes of the second half, but Mount St. Mary's never took the lead. A pair of long-range jumpers by Shakiri and two short jumpers by junior forward Jewell Palmer (Port Reading, N.J.) pushed the Rutgers-Newark lead to 40-30 with 15:07 left. The Knights never got closer than seven points before the Raiders pulled away to lead by as many as 20 points in the final minutes.


Smith scored a team high 14 points, while Lewis followed closely behind with 12 points and 9 boards. Mount senior Becky Metzger (Point Pleasant, N.J.) recorded 7 rebounds, in addition to scoring 6 points.

Shakiri led the Scarlet Raiders with 19 points and Howard added a double-double with 16 points and 12 boards. Palmer also reached double digits with 12 points and 7 rebounds.

The Knights open Skyline Conference play on Thursday night, as they play host to SUNY College at Old Westbury. Game time is 6:00 p.m., with a men's game to follow.