May's Hot Shooting Propels Lions Past Essex

Newark, NJ - Elizabeth May was on fire Thursday night at Essex County College. The freshman sniper from Auckland, New Zealand had a career high 20 points on 6 made three pointers. The Lions led just 24-19 after the break. Coming out of halftime RVCC's first play was a designed three point shot from May. The shot went through the net without touching the rim, in what would be a sign of things to come. May would then connect on 4 more straight shots from beyond the arc, drawing ire, but also awe, from the hometown crowd. May registered every single one of RVCC's third quarter 15 points, and all from downtown. Although the Lions established a double digit lead in the 4th quarter, they found themselves down 1 with just over 12 seconds to play. Ona Riopedre weaved her way through the Wolverines defense, and drew a foul. The freshman guard proved to be calm and collected under pressure, knocking down both free throws to put the Lions up 1. Essex drew up an inbounds play for their best shooter, and her shot just rimmed out. Julia Fontanillo secured the rebound and made both free throws to put the game out of reach. 

Fontanillo was also in double figures with 13 boards, led the team with 5 assists, and tied May with a team high 8 rebounds. May was also tasked at times with guarding the Wolverine's best offensive player, and she showed up in a major way. Known for her ability to block shots, May did just that. She set another career high with 4 blocked shots on the night. Riopedre was third on the team in scoring with 9. Even with the magic of May's trifectas and swatted shot attempts, perhaps the biggest play of the night was from freshman forward Paula Aguilera Ortega. With the Lions' lead crumbling and Essex's defense stepping up, Aguilera had a huge And-1 for the Lions towards the end of the fourth to give the Lions some much needed separation. 

With the win RVCC moves to 15-10 on the year and 9-5 in Region XIX play.