Rutgers-Camden improves to 8-11, while Brooklyn falls to 6-14.
After the teams were tied at 30-30, 32-32, 34-34 and 36-36, Parker put the Raptors ahead to stay on a three-point play with 11:47 remaining in the game. She nailed a jumper and tacked on a foul shot. Moments later, she added a layup as Rutgers-Camden took a 41-36 lead.
The Bridges managed to slice the gap to 43-41 with 3:34 remaining on a foul shot by sophomore forward Ryane Hecker (Corona, NY/St. Francis Prep) before the Raptors hung on for their second straight win.
After Brooklyn scored the first point of the game on a foul shot, the Lady Raptors rattled off 12 consecutive points to grab an early 12-1 lead. The Bridges, however, worked their way back into the game, aided by seven first-half points from senior guard/forward Brittany Natiello (Wurtsboro, NY/Port Jervis), and trailed by only 27-24 at halftime.
Junior forward Carmen Oyola (Hammonton, NJ/Hammonton) and junior point guard Krystal Jankowski (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) each had six points in the opening 20 minutes for the Lady Raptors.
Brooklyn forged back to tie the game at 30-30 on a jumper by Natiello just 2:15 into the second half, setting the stage for a hard-fought contest the rest of the way.
Rutgers-Camden produced a balanced attack in which no Raptor collected double figures in scoring. Jankowski led the team with nine points, while adding a game-high 15 rebounds. The nine points raised her career total to 501, while her three assists left her with 199 for her career. Jankowski’s next assist will make her one of only six players in program history to reach 200 career assists.
Oyola finished with eight points, while Parker added seven to tie her career high, set at Kean University Jan. 24.
The Bridges received a double-double from junior guard Jaclyn Cavalcante (Brooklyn, NY/James Madison), who notched a game-high 16 points and added 10 rebounds. She scored 11 of Brooklyn’s 23 points in the second half.
Natiello led the Bridges with 13 rebounds, while chipping in with nine points. Hecker added 11 rebounds for Brooklyn, which held a 58-45 advantage off the boards.
The two teams shot a combined 38-for-135 (28.1 percent) from the floor as Brooklyn went 15-for-66 (22.7) and Rutgers-Camden was 23-for-69 (33.3). Brooklyn went 4-for-23 (17.4) from three-point range, while Rutgers-Camden was 2-for-12 (16.7).
Junior guard Imani Hafiz (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional) notched game-high totals of five assists and five steals for the Scarlet Raptors before fouling out in the second half. She increased her total to 94 steals this season, leaving her six shy of becoming the lone player in program history with a pair of 100-steal seasons.
Cavalcante had a team-high four assists for the Bridges, while junior guard Jenny Varughese (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech) led Brooklyn with four steals.
Rutgers-Camden plays a 6 p.m. New Jersey Athletic Conference game Wednesday at Richard Stockton College.
Brooklyn returns to play Saturday when it travels to the College of Staten Island for a 12 p.m. City University of New York Athletic Conference game.