One thing the RCSJ-Gloucester women's basketball team discovered quickly Tuesday night was that visiting Middlesex was ready to do battle.

In a hard-fought contest that was tied after three quarters, the Runners escaped with a 72-59 victory for their second straight triumph and sixth in their last seven games.

"It was a struggle right from the start -- Middlesex came prepared and gave it everything they had," said head coach Rich Cooper. "We got off to a bad start and had to settle down the pace in the second half."

Pacing the offense were forward Trina Deveney-Bethea, who deposited 23 points, and guard Qeiaje Canty (Atlantic City), who fired in 21. Deveney-Bethea scored 13 of her 23 in the second half while Canty netted 17 of her 21 in a clutch second half.

The Runners trailed 32-28 at halftime and knotted the score at 50-50 by the end of the third quarter. That set up a dramatic fourth quarter in which the home team outscored the Colts 22-19 to seal the win.

"We knew right away they could play with us, so we had to ramp it up in the second half," said Canty, a freshman. "They gave us a wake-up call when they took the lead on us right away."

The Runners improved to 9-4 overall and 7-1 within the conference.

Next up will be a home match vs. Bergen on Saturday in a 12 noon start.