GLASSBORO, NJ -- A late three-pointer from Grace Marshall put Rowan on top for good as the Profs held off Ramapo, 69-65, Saturday afternoon at Esbjornson Gymnasium in a NJAC Tournament First-Round game.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
The third-seeded Profs move on to the semifinal round where second-seeded Kean awaits as the two teams will meet on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The other semifinal pits #4 TCNJ, who took down #5 William Paterson, 61-56, at top-seeded NJCU. The semifinal winners will meet on Saturday for the NJAC Championship at the highest remaining seed.
Rowan trailed 65-60 with just over two minutes in the fourth before Marshall hit her only three of the game, coming with 31 ticks left as part of a 9-0 run to close it out.
Dakota Adams netted a season-high 17 points and snared a team-best 13 rebounds for her second double double of the season. Marshall kicked in 13 points and four assists while Kristina Johnson hit two of her three triples in the final quarter to finish with 11. Kate Herlihy put together nine points, five steals, three boards, and two assists for the Profs
For the Roadrunners, Jackie Ventricelli had 17 points, nine boards, five steals and three assists. Teammate Jada Thompson registered 16 points and 14 rebounds.
In a game in which no team led by more than six points and featured nine lead changes and seven ties, Rowan withstood Ramapo's fourth-quarter effort.
The Roadrunners had a lead as large as 10-4 early in the first quarter, but Marshall hit a pair of free throws at the end of the frame to cut it to a 21-19 deficit. In the second, Rowan found a way to tie it at 28-28 before the teams went into the lockerroom at the break.
Herlihy's putback off a three-pointer miss beat the buzzer to end the third, giving the home team a 46-43 edge. Johnson connected on the first of her trifectas in the early fourth and again with 5:15 left to put Rowan back on top at 56-54. Ramapo would then hit back-to-back-to-back three-pointers in consecutive possessions, the last coming from Ventricelli for a 65-60 lead before the Profs started their game-changing scoring stretch highlighted by Marshall's sideline triple.