UNION, N.J. (Dec. 8, 2018) – The Kean University women's basketball team scored the first six points in the second overtime and went on to outlast Rutgers University-Camden, 95-89, in a marathon New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday afternoon.
 
The win lifts Kean to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in the NJAC, while Rutgers-Camden falls to 5-4 and 2-3. The Cougars snapped a two-game Rutgers-Camden winning streak in the series and increased their lead to 49-21 in the all-time series.
 
The double-overtime game tied Rutgers-Camden's record for the longest contest in program history, which was an 82-79 double-overtime loss to The College of New Jersey on Nov. 26, 2002.
 
With the teams tied at 80-80 heading into the second overtime, Kean took control early with six straight points as Sarah Olivero hit a layup, Danielle Oakley canned a pair of foul shots and Bre Spencer made a layup off of her own steal. Rutgers-Camden never came closer than four points after that spurt.
 
The Raptors had their chance to win the game in both regulation and the first overtime before the Cougars rallied for the ties to force and extra period. In regulation, Spencer hit a three-point field goal with 15 seconds remaining to tie the game at 70-70, and both teams missed shots to win it in the final seconds. In the first overtime, Rutgers-Camden led all the way until the final game-tying layup by Payce Lange, making it an 80-80 game with 30 seconds remaining. The Raptors missed their final shot of the overtime to send the game to a decisive second overtime period.
 
At the start of the game, the Cougars raced to a quick 19-5 lead before the Scarlet Raptors cut the deficit to 22-12 after one quarter. Rutgers-Camden followed with a 19-6 run in the second quarter, taking the lead at 25-24 on a three-point play by junior guard Fatimah Williams before taking a 31-28 halftime edge. Williams had 13 points at the break, while freshman guard Wykira Johnson-Kelly had 11.
 
The Raptors led, 50-46, after the third quarter before the teams ended up playing another 20 minutes in the marathon.
 
Both Keidy Laureano and Spencer collected double-doubles for the Cougars, with Laureano netting 17 points and 12 rebounds, while adding six assists. Spencer had a team-high 22 points and added 11 boards.
 
Lange notched 21 points and five assists, while Oakley added 10 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals. Shannon McCoy contributed 12 points and nine rebounds.
 
Kean shot 39-for-83 from the floor (47.0) and held a 57-40 advantage off the boards. Rutgers-Camden shot 32-for-73 (43.8) from the floor.
 
Johnson-Kelly, pictured above, had a monster game with a career-high 29 points. She completed the second double-double of her young career with a career-high 11 rebounds. Her former highs were 22 points against Stockton (Nov. 28) and 10 rebounds against Hood (Nov. 18). Johnson-Kelly added four assists, tying sophomore guard Shane Holmes for team-high honors.
 
Williams poured in 26 points for the Scarlet Raptors, shooting 9-for-14 from the floor and 8-for-11 from the foul line. She barely missed tying her career scoring high of 28, set against Rowan (Nov. 28).
 
Senior guard Gabby Greene finished with 15 points and moved into seventh place on the program's all-time lists for both steals and assists. Her six steals hiked her career total to 183, moving her past the 181 compiled by Carmen Zimmitt (2002-06). Her three assists gave her 231, moving her past the 229 compiled by Maureen McGovern (1994-99).
 
The Scarlet Raptors close the calendar year with a 5:30 p.m. NJAC game Wednesday at Ramapo College.