Complete All-Conference Teams

NJAC Tournament Semifinal Preview

PITMAN, N.J. (February 22, 2017) – The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) released its all-conference women's basketball teams on Wednesday and both senior guard Maria Simmons and sophomore guard Faith Ashby of Rutgers University-Newark were honored.
 
Simmons was named first-team All-NJAC, pocketing her third-straight all-conference award, and Ashby was honorable mention all-league in her first season as a Scarlet Raider.
 
The announcement comes on the morning of the Scarlet Raiders' NJAC semifinal matchup at second-seeded Kean University.
 
Both Simmons and Ashby have been integral parts of Rutgers-Newark throughout 2016-17, and both have been monsters in the team's late-season surge to the postseason. The duo helped Newark double its NJAC win total from the previous season, and they have each helped R-N pick up wins in five of their last seven – including an upset of third-seeded Stockton University Saturday in the opening round of the NJAC Tournament Championship.
 
Simmons was a second-team All-NJAC performer last year, and has been magnificent once again this year, leading the team in points (18.3), rebounding (7.5), assists (5.8) and blocked shots (seven). The senior guard – who earlier this season became the seventh 1,000-point scorer in Rutgers-Newark history – ranks second in the conference in scoring, 10th in rebounding, second in assists and second in steals (79).
 
The Irvington native ranks highly in the national stat ranks as well, sitting eighth in the nation in total assists (144), 10th in assists per game, 29th in free-throw attempts, 31st in total steals, 34th in steals per game (3.16) and 36th in minutes played (901).
 
She has racked up nine double-doubles this season, eclipsing 30 points on three separate occasions, including twice in conference wins (34 at Ramapo on February 1, 37 vs William Paterson on February 4). The veteran tallied double-digit points in every game but three, scoring 20-plus nine times and grabbing double-digit rebounds in nine outings.
 
Simmons earned NJAC, ECAC and Met Basketball Writers Association weekly honors after a 37-point, 13 rebound, five-assist, five-steal performance against Paterson, and has scored 18 or more points in six-straight games.
 
Ashby has been a big-time addition to the program, averaging 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 2.2 assists per game. She is second on the Raiders in scoring, rebounding and assists, and she paces the squad in steals.
 
The Teaneck native has scored in double figures in every game but one this season, and in the upset of Stockton on Saturday, she led the team with a career-high 26 points on just 19 shots. Ashby has eclipsed 20 points five times and 15 points 16 times.
 
The sophomore leads the NJAC in steals and is sixth in scoring, sitting fourth in the entire nation in minutes played (955), 20th in total steals and 28th in steals per game.
 
Rutgers-Newark and Kean will tip-off at 7 p.m. in Harwood Arena Wednesday night. The winner earns a berth in Saturday's NJAC title game against either Montclair State University or Rowan University.