Lincoln University never trailed, and received a game-high 24 points from freshman guard Shanice Nesmith (Philadelphia, PA/University City) as the Lions defeated New Jersey City University, 77-66, in a non-conference women’s basketball game at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
NJCU falls to 8-15 overall with its third straight loss, while Lincoln (16-8) extends its single-season record for victories and claims its fourth consecutive win. The Lions lead the all-
time series, 4-2.
Lincoln shot 50.8 percent overall (30-59) and 13-of-18 from the line (72.2 percent), while more than doubling NJCU’s points in the paint (42-20). The NJCU bench outscored the Lincoln reserves, 29-10.
In defeat, senior point guard LATRESE McNAIR (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) had 12 points, four assists and three steals. With the three picks, she now had 456 in her career and moves into 14th place at any level in the history of women’s basketball, passing University of Virginia legend Dawn Staley on the all-time list. She also upped her career scoring mark to 1,207.
Additionally, McNair played 38 minutes on what was Senior Day at NJCU. She now has played 3,102 minutes, becoming NJCU’s all-time, all-genders leader in the category, passing men’s Hall-of-Famer Abdul Madison (1993-97; 3,068).
For Lincoln, which had four players in double figures, Nesmith had 24 points in 26 minutes, shooting 9-of-16 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range. She added five rebounds. Senior center Mary Rotimi (Philadelphia, PA/Frankford) had 12 points (5-6 FG) and a game-best 10 rebounds, and junior forward Asha Atkinson (Deptford, NJ/Deptford) tacked on 18 points (8-14 FG), five assists and three steals. Junior guard Sharell McMillan (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman) finished with 11 points (4-7 FG), eight rebounds, and five steals.
Off the bench, freshman guard JERICA HAYES (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) led NJCU with a career-high 13 points in just 13 minutes, shooting 5-9 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range. The rest of the team shot a combined 3-of-17 from deep.
Sophomore forward TRISHA SANON (Jersey City, NJ/County Prep) added 10 points (4-9 FG) and nine rebounds, while senior guard BERNICE AMADEO (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) had nine points and three assists in her final home game.
Junior forward ARNESE GOODMAN (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln), who had double-doubles in back-to-back games coming in, left with an injury after playing only eight minutes.
Lincoln led 38-26 at the half and were ahead 40-31 at 18:34 of the second period before grabbing a commanding 26-point, 59-33 lead at the end of a 19-2 spurt over a span of 5:22. The Lions led by as many as 27 (67-40) with 9:29 remaining. NJCU scored 15 of the game’s final 18 points, but ran out of time in its comeback bid.
NJCU will play its final New Jersey Athletic Conference game of the season when it visits Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ on Saturday, February 17 at 1 p.m. Lincoln next plays at Eastern University that day at 2 p.m.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
Newspaper Box Score Lincoln University vs New Jersey City University 02/15/07 6 pm at Jersey City, NJ (John J. Moore AFC) At Jersey City, NJ (John J. Moore AFC) LINCOLN UNIVERSITY 77, NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY 66 LINCOLN UNIVERSITY (16-8) Nesmith, Shanice 9-16 3-4 24; Atkinson, Asha 8-14 2-4 18; Rotimi, Mary 5-6 2-3 12; McMillan, Sharell 4-7 2-2 11; Cook, Tanina 0-5 4-5 4; Robinson, Saharra 2-4 0-0 4; Harris, Chanell 1-2 0-0 2; Jackson, Elissa 1-4 0-0 2; Webster, Noel 0-1 0-0 0; Fore, Skyla 0-0 0-0 0; Thompson, Latoya 0-0 0-0 0; James, Natasha 0-0 0-0 0; Hilton, Tia 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-59 13-18 77. NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY (8-15) Jerica Hayes 5-9 0-0 13; Latrese McNair 4-20 3-4 12; Trisha Sanon 4-9 2-3 10; Bernice Amadeo 3-9 1-2 9; Carolina Garcia 2-6 2-2 6; Tiffany Boyd 2-8 2-2 6; Arnese Goodman 2-6 0-0 4; Michelle Vasquez 1-4 1-2 3; Natashia Clackley 1-3 0-2 2; Fatia Whitsett 0-0 1-2 1; Tiffany Adams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-74 12-19 66. Lincoln University............ 38 39 - 77 New Jersey City University.... 26 40 - 66 3-point goals--Lincoln University 4-11 (Nesmith, Shanice 3-6; McMillan, Sharell 1-2; Cook, Tanina 0-2; Harris, Chanell 0-1), New Jersey City University 6-23 (Jerica Hayes 3-6; Bernice Amadeo 2-6; Latrese McNair 1-9; Michelle Vasquez 0-1; Carolina Garcia 0-1). Fouled out--Lincoln University-None, New Jersey City University-None. Rebounds--Lincoln University 42 (Rotimi, Mary 10), New Jersey City University 41 (Trisha Sanon 9). Assists--Lincoln University 14 (Atkinson, Asha 5), New Jersey City University 19 (Natashia Clackley 5). Total fouls--Lincoln University 16, New Jersey City University 16. Technical fouls--Lincoln University-None, New Jersey City University-None. A-122 Lincoln leads all-time series, 4-2.