JERSEY CITY, NJ — New Jersey City University freshman small forward Sarah Edmond, a 2019 Bloomfield High School graduate, has earned her second New Jersey Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Week award this season after averaging 14.5 rebounds in two wins to vault the Gothic Knights to their first NJAC Tournament appearance in 31 years, the league office announced on Feb. 17.
The honor is for week 15 of the 2019-20 season for games played Feb. 10-16. Edmond previously was NJAC Rookie of the Week in week 11 on Jan. 20. It’s the third weekly award for NJCU in the last five weeks. Dayjah Anderson was NJAC Player of the Week in week 13.
NJCU is going to the postseason for the first time since the 1988-89 season and Edmond is a big reason why. In a 2-0 week for NJCU, which improved to a single school-record 6-3 on the road in the conference, the Knights knocked off The College of New Jersey in Ewing for the first time since 1994 and downed Rutgers-Camden to clinch the program’s first postseason in a generation.
Edmond seized 29 rebounds — 10 offensive, 19 defensive — with 16 points, four steals, three blocks and only one turnover in 65 combined minutes. She averaged 14.5 rebounds, 8.0 points, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, shooting .444 — 4-of-9 field goals — and 8-of-12 from the line. Edmond reached double figures in rebounding for the seventh and eighth times this year.
Edmond contributed to a historic win for NJCU on Feb. 12, as the Knights pulled off a 58-50 upset victory over TCNJ at Packer Hall. The win over the preseason NJAC favorites snapped an overall 22-game losing streak to the Lions and was the Knights’ first road win in Ewing in 26 years. Edmond grabbed 11 rebounds — four offensive, seven defensive — with five points — 2-of-5 field goals — in 29 minutes with one block.
The win was only NJCU’s fourth ever in 66 meetings against the Lions and snapped a 21-game losing streak in Ewing. It was the first NJCU win at TCNJ since Jan. 22, 1994 and was NJCU’s first victory against the Lions at any site since a 54-52 win in Jersey City on Jan. 18, 2006.
In NJCU’s conference playoff-clinching road 54-49 win over Rutgers-Camden on Feb. 15, the Knights were led by a monster double-double performance from Edmond, who hauled down a career-high and team season-best 18 rebounds — six offensive, 12 defensive — and scored 11 points on just four shots — 2-of-4 field goals — hitting 7-of-10 from the line in 36 minutes. It was her first career double-double and she added three steals and two blocks. It was the most rebounds by an NJCU player since Jan. 25, 2017 when Shege Haxhaj had 19 against William Paterson. Her previous career high was 15 rebounds on Nov. 26 against Kean.
Editor’s note: This article was submitted by the NJCU Sports Information Director Ira P. Thor
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