No. 4 Union women overwhelm Salem CC, remain undefeated while Mighty Oaks remain winless
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT — The game was only four minutes old and his team was in the middle of a 20-0 run that gave it control of the game, but UCNJ women’s coach Jaleel Taylor was seeing something he didn’t like.
During a 30-second time out he barked to the trainer to “rub some BioFreeze” on his players’ arms to get them talking because he knew that would get them going.
There wasn’t enough time during the timeout to get the gel distributed, but the mere suggestion was enough for the fourth-ranked Owls to change their approach. They came out of the pause and continued to pour it on, eventually routing winless Salem CC 98-32.
“It was a fear factor, that’s simply what it is,” Taylor said. “Just to get our girls to talking.
“We’ve been trying to get them to talk since the beginning of preseason. They love each other off the court. They love each other in the classroom. But on the court we’ve got to become a better communicating team, because we know if we’ve got communication we can be better on both ends of the court, so the BioFreeze is like a funny scare tactic to them.”
Even without the icy-hot, the Owls (10-0) were pretty good on both ends of the floor Monday. They forced the Mighty Oaks (0-6) into 38 turnovers – 26 off steals – off which they scored a whopping 55 points. There were only nine possessions in the first three quarters they failed to convert a turnover into points while building a 85-24 lead.
And when they weren’t rolling in layups off the turnovers, they were hitting from the outside. The Owls hit a season-best 9-of-23 from 3-point range, 6-of-12 in the first half.
“I think the break helped,” Taylor said. “We were coming off a very hectic November. We played nine games in November (all on the road) and we had three days off for break. I think those three days for them just to go home, relax, not even think about basketball, they came back rejuvenated and worked really well. The girls got their feet back under them.”
The Mighty Oaks didn’t make a field goal in the first quarter (0-for-7) and hit only one — Paula Wilson’s 3-pointer — in the final eight minutes of the second quarter. Union scored 38 points in the half off turnovers.
“In watching film against Union, they get a majority of their points off turnovers and runouts and in the first half that’s exactly what they did,” Salem coach Brian Marsh said. “They’re ranked nationally, they’re a really good team … but you just don’t to play to those strengths.
“I wanted to slow it down a little bit, make them work for shots because they’re typically not a great shooting team (but) they shot really well today. You’ve got to give them some credit, they’re a good team for a reason, but there are some things we need to work on.”
It was a little better in the second half. The Mighty Oaks gave up 18 fewer points in the second half than the first, cut their turnovers from 24 to 14 and gave up only two second-chance points.
“The one thing I really liked about my team is we never quit,” Marsh said. “Down 50, 60 points we kept fighting hard, so that’s something we can build upon. In a game like this you’ve got to find things that you can build upon, that you’re proud of, and I’m proud that they never stopped working hard.”
ACORNS: Because its gym is undergoing renovations, Union will play all of its games this season on the road. That means the women’s team will travel 4,548 round trip bus/van miles during the regular season. “That’s a lot of miles,” Taylor said. The Owls’ mens team is in the same boat … In five games since the revival of Salem’s program, the average margin in the series has been 60 points
UNION 98, SALEM CC 32
UNION (10-0): Jasmin Mckay 7-10 5-5 19, Zakiyyah Lindsey 6-14 5-6 20, Jada Rodgers 1-3 2-2 4, Darrian Jackson 2-5 0-0 5, Zanaya Parsons 6-6 0-0 12, Aaliyah Littles 3-9 1-1 7, Gracie Cruz 2-6 0-0 4, Gianna Papineau 5-9 0-0 12, Emani Resto 2-5 0-0 4, Maria Paula Urena Rojas 3-9 0-0 9, Brianna Patterson 0-3 0-0 0, Asia Kirkpatrick 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 38-82 13-14 98.
SALEM CC (0-6): RayNescia King 0-10 1-2 1, Tanijya Shaw 3-15 5-8 11, Kasey Oliver 2-3 1-4 5, Dani Gustin 0-2 3-6 3, Jayda Hunter 0-5 3-4 3, Justine Cardona 1-5 2-3 4, Americana Hunter 0-2 0-0 0, Paula Wilson 2-6 0-0 5. Totals 8-48 15-27 32.
| Union | 32 | 26 | 27 | 13- | 98 |
| Salem CC | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8- | 32 |
3-point goals: Union 9-23 (Mckay 0-1, Lindsey 3-4, Rodgers 0-1, Jackson 1-2, Cruz 0-1, Papineau 2-3, Urena Rojas 3-8, Patterson 0-3); Salem CC 1-15 (King 0-3, Shaw 0-3, Hunter 0-2, Cardona 0-2, Hunter 0-1, Wilson 1-4). Rebounds: Union 46 (Mckay 7, Resto 7); Salem CC 35 (Shaw 9, Hunter 8). Total fouls: Union 21, Salem CC 13.
Region XIX Standings
| WOMENS DIVISION II | R19 | ALL | GSAC |
| Union (4) | 5-0 | 10-0 | 4-0 |
| Harcum (8) | 3-0 | 7-1 | |
| Mercer (RV) | 3-1 | 6-2 | 2-0 |
| Essex | 2-1 | 5-1 | 2-1 |
| Lackawanna | 2-1 | 2-4 | |
| Delaware Tech | 1-1 | 2-7 | |
| Morris | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-1 |
| Middlesex | 0-3 | 4-7 | 0-2 |
| Raritan Valley | 0-3 | 2-4 | 0-2 |
| SALEM CC | 0-4 | 0-6 | 0-2 |
MONDAY’S GAMES
Union 98, Salem 32
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Middlesex at Essex
Raritan Valley at Lackawanna
Mercer at Delaware Tech
Northampton at Camden
Harcum at Morris
Sussex at Passaic
Ocean at Atlantic Cape
RCSJ-Gloucester at Bergen
Brookdale at Delaware County
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