Cooper, who missed the first half due to an injury, started the second half and scored 12 of Kean’s first 26 points to give the Cougars a 50-49 with just under eight minutes remaining. Kean, who had trailed by 11 at halftime, had taken a 45-44 lead on eight consecutive points by freshman forward Kimberly Smith (Burlington Twp., N.J.) with 10:30 left in the game.
Rutgers Newark raced out to a 33-22 halftime lead behind 14 points from freshman forward Eni Fageyinbo (Morris Plains, N.J.). In the first half for the Cougars, Smith, senior center Danielle Moseley (Bloomfield, N.J.) and senior guard Missy Magyar (Iselin, N.J.) each had six points for the Cougars.
In a second half that featured six lead changes four ties, Kean took the lead for good at 60-58 with 2:54 remaining on a layup by freshman guard Nina Oshiokpekhai (Hillside, N.J.) following a steal and assist by freshman guard Allison Summerset (Mays Landing, N.J.).
Cooper added a pair of free throws and freshman guard Shirley Fernandez (Union City, N.J.) hit the front end of a one and one to give the Cougars the three point advantage with eighteen seconds left.
In the victory, Smith tallied 17 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists in her second career start, while Moseley finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Cougars.
For the Scarlet Raiders, Fageyinbo finished with a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds, and junior center Christyal Anderson (Newark, N.J.) had 13 points and eight rebounds. Freshman guard Sabrina Sanchez (Keasbey, N.J.) added 10 points off the bench for the Scarlet Raiders.
Kean closes out the season at Montclair State University on Saturday, February 19, at 3 p.m. while Rutgers-Newark plays at Rowan to close out the regular season at the same time.