By Steven M. Glassman
Director of Sports Information
January 17, 2018
JENKINTOWN, PA—Raritan Valley Community College (12-4 Overall, 7-3 Region XIX Division II) sophomore guard Ashley Hunt led both teams with 27 points, 10 assists, and four steals as the Lions defeated the Manor College Blue Jays (6-8, 2-7), 70-43.
Manor led, 9-8, on consecutive baskets by sophomores Jaquay Williams (guard, Philadelphia, PA/Audenreid) (layup, 2:43 left) and Kellicia Brown (forward/center, Philadelphia, PA/Lincoln) (three-point basket, 1:55). Freshman guard Kiara Stoval (Chester, PA/Ursuline Academy [DE]) assisted on Brown's basket. However, Hunt's three-point basket, with an assist by freshman guard/forward Rachel Knappenberger, with 0:55.2 remaining gave Raritan Valley an 11-9 lead going into the second quarter.
The Blue Jays outscored the Lions, 12-3, in the first 5:50 of the second quarter. Freshman forward/center Alliya Austin's (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) jump shot off her own miss gave Manor its largest lead of the game (21-14) with 4:10 left in the second. Raritan Valley answered and finished off the final 4:10 on a 10-2 run. Freshman guard Olivia Nilsen's three-point basket (with an assist by Hunt) with 0:31.2 left in the second finished off the run and gave the Lions the lead for good. Manor outscored Raritan Valley in the second, 14-13, but the Lions led, 24-23, at halftime.
The Lions built on its halftime lead in the third quarter. Raritan Valley outscored Manor, 14-4, in the first 4:36 of the third and opened up its first double-digit lead, 38-27, on Hunt's layup. The Lions expanded to its largest lead at the time (46-27) on Nilsen's jump shot (on another Hunt assist) with 3:19 left. Hunt also scored 12 of the Lions' first 18 third quarter points in the first 5:49 of the quarter. Raritan Valley outscored Manor in the quarter, 22-12, and led 46-35 after three.
The Blue Jays went on an 8-1 run over the final 2:16 of the third and the first 1:21 of the fourth quarter. Freshman forward Chenia Maldonando's (Trenton, NJ/Fels [PA]) layup with 8:39 left in the fourth completed the 3:37 run and closed the gap to 10, 47-37. Raritan Valley responded and went on an 11-4 run and expanded its advantage to 58-41 on Nilsen's jump shot, with another assist by Hunt on an inbounds pass with about four-and-a-half minutes remaining. The Lions outscored the Blue Jays in the fourth, 24-8, and in the second half, 46-20. Hunt (18 points) and Nilsen (12) combined to score 30 of Raritan Valley's second-half points.
Individual Statistical Leaders: Williams led Manor with 20 points and Austin paced the Blue Jays with nine rebounds.
Nilsen scored 21 points. Freshman guard Adrienne Amey contributed 10 rebounds and led both teams with six assists. Freshman forward Moira Phillips came off the bench to register a "double-double" with 10 points and paced both teams with 12 rebounds.
Series Record: This was the first time Raritan Valley has defeated Manor College in 11 series games.
Next Game: Manor hosts the County College of Morris 7:00 p.m. Thursday, January 18. 2018. The Blue Jays are 15-1 versus the Titans, including 7-1 at home. Manor has won the last nine meetings overall, including four at home. The two schools did not play against each other during the 2016-2017 season. The Blue Jays swept the 2015-2016 season series, 70-39 (November 7, 2015 at home), and, 69-40 (February 16, 2016 on the road).