JERSEY CITY, NJ – Sophomore Amissa Epperson (Jersey City, NJ/McNair Academic) recorded her first career triple-double with 12 points, 20 rebounds and a career-high 11 blocks, but it wasn't enough as Pratt Institute women's basketball fell to the New Jersey City University Gothic Knights, 67-51 Saturday afternoon, in the first meeting between the programs since January 29, 1981.
Reigning Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week Anna Bryce notched her second double-double of the season with 18 points and 14 rebounds, but the Cannoneers spotted the Gothic Knights the first 10 points of the game and were unable to recover, in dropping their second straight game to fall to 1-2. NJCU has won all three games in the series and improved to 3-2. Bryce's 18 points led all players.
Tu'ziah Hall's 16 points led three Gothic Knights in double figures and her seven steals topped all players. Atonie Johnson had six points and a team-high 10 rebounds off the bench. The Gothic Knights outrebounded the Cannoneers 64-60, including a decisive 37-20 edge on the offensive glass, leading to 27 second-chance points for NJCU.
"There's a lot to take from today's game," commented head coach Sade Jackson. "I think we handled their pressure better than what the stat sheet says. Defensively, [while] we played well, we just struggled with finishing the play. We did a great job of getting the ball into the paint and [then] capitalizing on those opportunities."
As a team, the Cannoneers outshot NJCU from the field (33.3%-27.6%) but the Gothic Knights forced 39 Pratt turnovers leading to 34 points in the 16-point victory.
After spotting NJCU a 10-0 lead, Epperson and Bryce combined to score the next nine points to pull the Cannoneers to within one at with 1:13 to play in the frame. After a NJCU turnover, Bryce and Idalia Kaplan (Seattle, WA/University Prep) missed back-to-back field goal attempts that would have pulled the Cannoneers ahead for the first time. The Gothic Knights followed with a missed jumper of their own, giving the Cannoneers a third attempt to take their first lead. However, NJCU capitalized on Pratt's ninth turnover of the period, scoring on a fast-break layup by Hall, as the first-quarter buzzer sounded giving the Gothic Knights a three-point lead after one period.
With possession of the basketball to begin the second quarter, Bryce calmly sank a three-pointer to force the game's only tie. The knotted score would last only eight seconds as back-to-back baskets by Hall reclaimed a four-point lead for NJCU. The two baskets sparked a 16-4 run by NJCU that opened a 12-point lead midway through the second frame that the Gothic Knights were able to maintain for the remainder of the game.
Jianfei Zhao (Shenzhen, China/Shenzhen University) scored her first collegiate points with a second-quarter jumper and Sally Song (Beijing, China/Central Academy of Art & Design) converted her first career field goal with a long three-point basket in the second frame. Song recorded her first collegiate points earlier in the season against Vaughn College. Freshman Emily Guerra added 12 points and eight rebounds and a game-high five assists and joined Bryce in playing all 40 minutes.
Up Next: The Cannoneers welcome Pine Manor College to the ARC for the first matchup between the programs, in the first game of a non-conference basketball doubleheader on Thursday, December 1. Tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
