The Scarlet Raptors improve to 3-1 with their second straight win, while the Eagles fall to 1-2.
The game marked the home coaching debut of first-year Rutgers-Camden Head Coach Jean Gyurics, whose team took a quick 2-0 lead and, after Eastern forged a 2-2 tie, grabbed the lead for good at 4-2 on a layup by senior forward Karen Carter (Pennsauken, NJ/Pennsauken).
Hafiz, who collected five steals in each half, finished one shy of her own single-game program record of 11, set against Montclair State Jan. 4, 2006. The 10 steals also leaves her with 195 for her career, five shy of becoming only the fourth player in program history to register over 200 career steals.
The Lady Raptors grabbed a 34-25 halftime lead behind nine points apiece from Hafiz and sophomore forward Crystal Pezzano (Brockton, MA/Brockton). Carter added six points in the opening half, while junior forward Jennifer Christy (Malaga, NJ/Delsea Regional) had nine first-half rebounds, including six off the defensive boards.
For Eastern, junior guard Mandy Kuiken (Pompton Plains, NJ/Eastern Christian) had 12 points in the opening 20 minutes.
The Eagles cut the gap as close as 38-34 in the second half on a three-pointer by senior guard Jacey Bray (Murphy’s, CA/Bret Hart), before the Scarlet Raptors went on a 21-15 run to end the game.
In addition to Hafiz, Pezzano scored 11 points for the Raptors, while junior forward Carmen Oyola (Hammonton, NJ/Hammonton) added nine. Carter and junior guard Krystal Jankowski (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) each finished with eight points, while Christy collected a game-high 11 rebounds.
For Eastern, Kuiken notched a game-high 17 points and added four steals. Senior guard Raya Shores (Athens, PA/Athens Area) added 11 points. Freshman forward Hannah Tobin (Paxinos, PA/Shikellamy) had 10 rebounds and Bray added eight.
Eastern returns to action Wednesday night with a 7 p.m. game at Penn State-Berks. The Lady Raptors open their New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule Saturday with a 1 p.m. game at Montclair State University.