The Scarlet Raiders improve to 11-5 overall and 4-1 in the NJAC, while the Scarlet Raptors fall to 6-10 and 1-5. Newark has won the last five games in the all-time series to grab a 25-24 lead.
At halftime, Rutgers-Camden held a 30-28 lead behind 11 points from senior forward Karen Carter (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken) and 10 from junior guard Imani Hafiz (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional).
Sanchez had eight points in the opening 20 minutes for Newark, but turned in a phenomenal second half to power the Scarlet Raiders’ comeback. With the teams tied at 41-41, Sanchez nailed a three-pointer with 12:51 remaining to lift Rutgers-Newark ahead to stay, 44-41. The Raiders opened up leads as large as eight points down the stretch, with the final being 68-60 with 1:23 remaining.
Rutgers-Camden quickly sliced the gap to 68-66 on back-to-back treys by junior guard Jennifer Williams (Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City) and sophomore forward Crystal Pezzano (Brockton, MA/Brockton). The Scarlet Raiders closed out the game with a pair of foul shots by sophomore guard Youngor Kehleay (Eatontown, NJ/Monmouth Regional) with 21 seconds remaining.
In addition to 22 points by Sanchez, junior forward Eni Fageyinbo (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills) scored 13 points and junior forward Stephanie Ross (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) added 10 for Newark.
The Raiders held a 38-23 advantage off the boards, led by seven rebounds from Eni Fageyinbo.
For Rutgers-Camden, Hafiz scored 20 points, junior guard Carmen Oyola (Hammonton, NJ/Hammonton) notched 15 and Carter added 13. Carter paced the Raptors with seven rebounds, while Hafiz had a game-high seven steals.
Rutgers-Newark shot 50 percent (24-for-48) from the floor and 83.3 percent (15-for-18) from the foul line. Rutgers-Camden went 22-for-52 (42.3 percent) from the floor and 19-for-27 (70.4 percent) from the line.
Both teams play 6 p.m. NJAC road games on Wednesday. Rutgers-Newark visits Montclair State University, while Rutgers-Camden travels to nationally-ranked Kean University. The Cougars are ranked No. 23 in the current Division III USA Today ESPN Top 25 and are ranked No. 21 in the d3hoops.com Top 25.