Raptor of the Week: Megan Rulon

RAPTOR OF THE WEEK
Megan Rulon (Sewell, NJ/Clearview Regional)

Senior center Megan Rulon became the 10th player in Rutgers-Camden women’s basketball history to reach the 1,000-point milestone for her career, scoring a game-high 25 points at The College of New Jersey Dec. 7 to climb into the exclusive club. She also grabbed seven rebounds and had a game-high nine blocked shots. That milestone performance was part of a huge week for Rulon, who nearly had a triple-double against St. Mary’s College of Maryland on Dec. 5 (17 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks) and capped her outstanding run at Rutgers-Newark Dec. 10 with a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds. In her three games for the week, Rulon scored 62 points (20.7 average), grabbed 30 rebounds (10.0) and added 20 blocked shots (6.7) The output lifted her career totals to 1,035 points, 665 rebounds and 260 blocked shots. This is the second Raptor of the Week award this season for Rulon, who earned the initial basketball honor on Nov. 21 after her all-tournament performance at the Seventh Annual Jim Crawley Classic at Frostburg State University.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (3-6/0-5 NJAC)

December
Mon. 5 Rutgers-Camden 77, St. Mary’s College of Maryland 59
Wed. 7 The College of New Jersey 80, Rutgers-Camden 56
Sat. 10 Rutgers-Newark 57, Rutgers-Camden 51

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
at South Padre Island (TX) Shootout
Wed. 28 vs. Concordia (TX) University 3 p.m.
Thur. 29 Consolation game (1 p.m.)/Championship game (3 p.m.)

The Lady Raptors posted a 1-2 record during a week in which senior center Megan Rulon (Sewell, NJ/Clearview Regional) added her name to the program career records by becoming the 10th player to reach the 1,000-point plateau for her Rutgers-Camden women’s basketball career. Rulon did so in style with a 25-point performance at The College of New Jersey Dec. 7, when she also added seven rebounds and barely missed a double-double by adding nine rebounds.

The Lady Raptors lost that game against the Lions, 80-56, and also lost another New Jersey Athletic Conference road game at Rutgers-Newark, 57-51, Dec. 10. They won their opening game of the week with a 77-59 home victory over St. Mary’s College of Maryland Dec. 5.

In the win over St. Mary’s, sophomore guard Krystal Jankowski (Somerdale, NJ/Sterling) scored a career-high 20 points and Rulon came within one blocked shot of a triple-double.

The Lady Raptors grabbed a 36-29 halftime lead as Rulon collected nine points, seven rebounds and five blocks in the opening 20 minutes. For St. Mary’s, sophomore forward Lisa Daciek had seven points in the first half.

Jankowski notched 16 of her game-high 20 points in the second half to pass her old career high of 17 points, set against Cabrini College Dec. 14, 2004. She added six rebounds and a team-high four assists.

Rulon, meanwhile, had 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocked shots to give her 990 points, setting up her historical night at The College of New Jersey.

The Lady Raptors also received a game-high 11 rebounds and nine points from senior guard Carmen Zimmitt (Woodstown, NJ/Woodstown), while sophomore guard Imani Hafiz (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional) played a fine all-around game with 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one blocked shot and a game-high six steals.

The Seahawks received 14 points from freshman forward Allie Scott, while Daciek finished with 10 points. Sophomore guard Taylor Yearwood had a team-high nine rebounds and tied for team-high honors with five assists.

The College of New Jersey placed four players in double figures scoring, led by 14 points from senior center Danica Miller on its way to an 80-56 NJAC victory over Rutgers-Camden Dec. 7 in Ewing.

The Lions’ victory spoiled a milestone evening for Rulon, whose game-high 25 points gave her 1,015 career points, moving her onto the elite 1,000-point list.

Sophomore guard/forward Sara Best added 12 points for TCNJ, while freshman guard Lisa Koch notched 11 points and senior forward Erin Frank canned 10 for the Lions.

The Lions took the lead for good, 11-10, with 12:28 remaining in the first half on a three-pointer by Koch. TCNJ stretched its advantage to 39-25 by halftime as Miller notched 10 of her team-high 14 points and Best added nine in the opening 20 minutes. Best also had seven of her game-high 10 rebounds in the opening half as the Lions out-rebounded the Lady Raptors, 22-17, in the first 20 minutes. TCNJ held a 45-35 advantage off the boards in the final stats.

Rulon had eight points to lead the Raptors in the first half. After hitting a foul shot early in the second half, Rulon scored her milestone point on another trip to the charity stripe, sinking a free throw with 17:23 remaining in the game. She also collected a game-high nine blocked shots, tied Jankowski with a team-high seven rebounds and tied freshman forward Crystal Pezzano (Brockton, MA/Brockton) for team-high honors with five assists.

Pezzano added 11 points for the Lady Raptors in addition to her five assists. Zimmitt had 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Rutgers-Newark handed the Raptors another NJAC defeat as it roared back from the eight-point halftime deficit and went on to defeat Rutgers-Camden, 57-51, Dec. 10 in Newark.

The Scarlet Raiders, who trailed 30-22 at the half, scored the first seven points of the second half. They eventually took the lead, 33-32, on a layup by sophomore forward Eni Fageyinbo with 17:09 remaining. Although the Lady Raptors managed to tie the game at 35-35, they never led again. Rutgers-Newark took the lead for good, 37-35, on a layup by sophomore forward Stephanie Ross with 14:42 left.

Sophomore forward Toni Roselli netted 10 of her 18 points during Rutgers-Newark’s second-half run, while Fageyinbo scored nine of her 10 points and Ross notched six of her 10 points in the second half.

Roselli added four steals, four rebounds and two assists while Ross added four rebounds.

Rutgers-Camden received game-high totals of 20 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots from Rulon. Jankowski collected 13 points – 12 in the opening half on 6-for-8 shooting from the field – and seven rebounds, while tying her career high of six assists.

Zimmitt added 10 points, six rebounds, two assists and tied Jankowski for team-high honors with three steals.

MEN’S BASKETBALL (1-7/0-5 NJAC)
December
Wed. 7 The College of New Jersey 75, Rutgers-Camden 51
Sat. 10 Rutgers-Newark 84, Rutgers-Camden 41

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
Tues. 13 at SUNY-Farmingdale 7 p.m.
at Colorado College Holiday Challenge

Wed. 28 at Colorado College 7 p.m.
Thur. 29 vs. Worcester State College 7 p.m.

The Rutgers-Camden men’s basketball team was victimized by two of the best big men in the New Jersey Athletic Conference as the Scarlet Raptors lost road games at The College of New Jersey (75-51) and at Rutgers-Newark (84-41), on Dec. 7 and Dec. 10, respectively.

TCNJ’s senior forward Scott Findlay notched game-high totals of 22 points and 12 rebounds in the Scarlet Raptors’ first loss of the week. Rutgers-Newark’s Chinedu Ibeh had game-high totals of 20 points and five blocked shots, tied for game-high honors with three steals and added 11 rebounds in the second game of the week.

In the TCNJ game, Findlay, who entered the game with team-leading averages of 15.8 points and 9.2 rebounds, shot 10-for-18 from the field. He had 10 points and seven rebounds as the Lions grabbed a 37-23 halftime lead.

TCNJ also received 11 points and a game-high three steals from junior guard Brian Halligan, while sophomore forward Mark Aziz added 10 points.

The Lions placed 10 players in the scoring column and shot 51.7 percent from the field (30-for-58), while the Raptors played only seven players and shot 34.4 percent (21-for-61).

TCNJ out-rebounded Rutgers-Camden, 42-28.

The Scarlet Raptors were paced by freshman guard Wayne Smalls (Camden, NJ/Medical Arts), who collected 17 points, including nine in the opening half. Senior guard Timothy Harris (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Amir Fantroyal (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) had 11 points and six rebounds.

In the game at Rutgers-Newark, Ibeh and senior guard Justin Carter each scored 13 points in the opening half as the Scarlet Raiders grabbed a 38-22 halftime lead. With Rutgers-Newark holding a 21-16 lead, the Scarlet Raiders went on a 15-0 run, led by six points from Carter, to take a commanding lead.

Reserve senior forward Rico Thompson finished with for career highs of 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Raiders.

Smalls paced the Scarlet Raptors with 15 points, while Harris added eight points and two steals.

Rutgers-Newark shot 50 percent (31-for-62) from the field, while Rutgers-Camden hit just 23.5 percent (12-for-51). The Raiders also held a 52-21 advantage off the boards.