Women's Hoops Capture Back-to-Back NJAC
Championships
EWING, N.J. (2/29/08) - It was a complete team
effort, as the Kean University women's basketball team placed all
five starters in double-figures as they captured the 2008 New
Jersey Athletic Conference Championship with a 70-61 victory over
host The College of New Jersey at Packer Hall on Friday
evening.
Junior guard Melissa Beyruti (Union City, N.J.)
led the #12/13 Cougars (25-3) with 17 points, including 11 in the
second half, while senior center Chari' Cooper (Paulsboro,
N.J.) and freshman forward Tiffany Patrick
(Piscataway, N.J.) each recorded double-doubles to help
the Cougars capture their second-straight NJAC title and earn the
conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Cougars won back-to-back titles for the first time since they
won the last two of their nine straight championships from 1982-83
through 1990-91, and it was the first time a NJAC team defended its
title since Rowan University won four straight from 1995-96 through
1998-99.
For TCNJ, junior center Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch
Plains, N.J.) scored a career-high 28 points and added 17
rebounds and five blocks. The 2008 NJAC Player of the Year,
Klimowicz hit 12-of-19 from the floor and scored 22 of her points
after intermission to get the Lions back within striking
distance.
After Kean extended their lead to as many as 20 points on their
first possessions of the second half on a three-pointer by Beyruti,
TCNJ cut the deficit to single digits for the first time when they
pulled within eight points at 53-45 with just under 10 minutes
remaining.
The Lions pulled to within eight points on three other
occasions, and to within seven points at 68-61 on a layup by
Klimowicz with just 21 seconds remaining before Kean junior guard
Ebony Jackson (Newark, N.J.) sealed the Cougar
victory with a pair of free throws for the final 70-61
advantage.
Sophomore guard Cardiss Jackman (Tobyhanna,
Pa.) scored all 10 of her points in the first half to give
the Cougars 36-19 halftime advantage, as Kean held the Lions to
just 8-of-35 shooting (22.9 percent). 
In the game, Cooper (pictured left) had 11 points and 18
rebounds to record her 20th double-double of the season,
while Patrick had her first-career double-double with 10 points and
14 rebounds. Cooper now has 1,471 career boards, third
highest total in NCAA Division III history and 14th
among all-divisions on the NCAA all-time list.
Jackson added 10 points, six assists, five rebounds and four
steals for the Cougars, as her six assists gave her 465 for her
career, tying the program record held by Crystal Gadsen
(1999-2003).
The Cougars await the NCAA Tournament bracket
announcement on Monday, March 3, to find out the opponent and
destination of the first round.
