New Jersey City University, NJCU
(Photo by Sunil Sunder Raj)

New Jersey City University season ends in loss to Alvernia in ECAC Title Game

The New Jersey City University Gothic Knights Women's Basketball (17-12) 2022-23 season ended in a 57-48 loss to the Alvernia University Golden Wolves (20-10) in the ECAC (Eastern Conference Athletic Association) Championship Game at the Bradley Center in Mahwah, New Jersey.

New Jersey City University was led in scoring by star junior point guard Damaris Rodriguez tallying 18 points, while senior Jada Camacho added 10 points. Tamia Wessels netted 14 points for Alvernia, and Cathryn Kramer supplied 12 points.

Alvernia head coach Rayne Reber on winning the ECAC Title, "It means a lot to this women's basketball program. When out senior Cathryn Kramer came into the program, we were picked to finish last in our conference. This team had lost 43 straight conference games before this coaching staff and Cathryn came into the program."

"So, to go in four years from being last in our conference to make into our conference championship and now winning the ECAC really shows how hard these girls have worked and dedication they have put in turning the program around and making Alvernia a team to be remembered and get the respect we felt we should deserve."

"Tamia (Wessels) is a true senior leader and I had a conversation with her that she can't waste any seconds when she's on that court because she's never going to get them back and it really sunk in with her. You could tell because of her excitement, energy and defense and the way she attacked the basket and really sparked us and got us going. I'm most proud of how well she did on both ends of the floor."

"NJCU is a strong and tough team, and we knew it was going to be a battle and come down to the end. Damaris Rodriguez is probably the best guard we have faced all year. We knew it was going to come down to defense and rebounding the ball because they're so tall and we had to fight and take care of the ball and box out to be able to pull out the win."

The Gothic Knights were coming off an impressive 74-61 victory over William Paterson, with four players reaching double figures. Meanwhile, Alvernia upset the top seed Ramapo College 69-52.

Both teams came out sluggishly in the first quarter and missed many shots. By the time the period ended, NJCU had led 10-8.

"On the bus ride there (Ramapo College), I could tell the girls were tired and down and had to be at the gym by 10:30 a.m. They must have thought I said 7 a.m.," NJCU Head Coach Pat Devaney explained. "I don't like using excuses because Alvernia also had a back-to-back game."

Once the second quarter finished, the scoring output increased slightly as the Gothic Knights increased their advantage to 14-9. However, Alvernia responded with a run and tied the game up at 16-16 on a trifecta from Tamia Wessels.

NJCU struggling from the perimeter shooting at a 14 percent clip enabled the Golden Wolves to surge ahead and take a 22-20 lead heading into halftime.

Alvernia came out in the third quarter and widened the margin to 35-30. The Golden Wolves flourished in all phases, from driving into the paint, knocking down shots on the perimeter, and hitting free throws. Going into the final frame, Alvernia was up 39-35.

The Gothic Knights answered back in the fourth quarter after cutting the gap to 42-41 on a triple from Jada Camacho. Alvernia ignited a rebuttal with a 5-0 spurt to bump the lead back to 47-41.

NJCU notched four points in 19 seconds to narrow the margin. The Gothic Knights made it a 51-48 game with less than three minutes to go on a jumper from Damaris Rodriguez, but that would be the closest they would get the rest of the way as NJCU did not register a point in the remaining two and half minutes of action.

"I thought we had a lot of advantages with personnel and just don't we execute well enough," Devaney described. "Alvernia came out as we have seen teams all year against us and give us their all for 40 minutes. We must learn to match that and can't give 20 minutes."

"We must give unlimited energy and match other teams for 40 minutes. We're a young group and that's what we must understand we're no longer the hunters but hunted and going to get everybody's best and reciprocate that so we can give ourselves a chance and opportunity to win these games."

"We didn't take care of the basketball, careless turnovers, not boxing out and running the floor and doing the little things and details that championship teams do to close out games and that's what Alvernia did and really deserved the ECAC championship and paid attention to those details. They studied film on us and wanted it more from top to bottom and they were outmatched size wise and skill wise but brought the heart, tenacity and fearlessness and never quit attitude with the positive attitude."

Despite losses to Alvernia in the ECAC Championship Game and Rowan in the NJAC Title Game, the Gothic Knights accomplished quite a bit in the 2022-23 season, winning 17 games, 14-4 in the NJAC, winning their first regular-season conference championship and reaching the NJAC Tournament Championship Game for a third consecutive year in a row.

NJCU is losing several essential players on the team to graduation -  Jada Camacho, Laney Fox, Jasmine Reese, and Janari Newsome. However, the Gothic Knights will have back next season the NJAC Player of the Year, three-time First-Team All-Conference Player, and 1000-plus scorer Damaris Rodriguez.

"Jada (Camacho) is a big piece to what we do over here, extremely athletic and a beautiful stroke in her shot and we're going to miss that," Devaney noted. "We're going to miss Janari's length and what she gives us athletically."

"Jasmine "Coconut" Reese is the definition of resilient and who was injured in her junior and senior year of high school and sophomore with us and wound up coming back after knee surgery and played a whole year. Not a lot of kids would come back after all that stuff happens to them and probably want to play basketball and she's a kid that never quit."

"It's been a privilege and honor to coach Damaris (Rodriguez), and she's great on the basketball court and a great person as well, making it more special. She gives everything to game of basketball, a fierce competitor and hates losing. The biggest thing with me is turning her into a fearless leader, and that's my duty as a coach and mentor to get her to that level. We're lucky enough she has two more years of eligibility. She will then graduate, and I want to surround her with the best talent I can find and win a national championship and stay at championship level."

"My biggest thing was I wanted to establish a standard here at NJCU on the women's basketball side and a standard of excellence and striving to be the best version of yourself, not just on the basketball court. In five years, I have been lucky enough to establish that and able to get the recruits we have. I want our kids to have the mentality never to give up, and when they leave here, we're not getting them up for the next four years of college with us but next 40 years and have that mentality last forever. Our team, no matter what the situation was and were down, the girls continued to fight and stay resilient, and that's all I can ask for my girls to continue to fight because life is hard, and do anything in your power to be successful."

"This year was a highly successful season for us given that we didn't win any championships. We established that championship caliber team, won a regular-season championship for the first time in school history, 17 wins that we haven't had in school history and most conference wins in school history with 14 and four losses the least in school history and best record in school history and getting to the ECAC Championship is something."

"I'm extremely proud of our girls and what we've been through this year and the key pieces we lost, and they can walk up with their head up and still champions even though they didn't win the overall championship because they went through the process and worked hard and did the little things they needed to do and hope that stays with them for life."