Box Score
Ewing, NJ... The College of New Jersey women's basketball team faced a quick and aggressive opponent in Rowan University and dropped a 68-60 decision in their New Jersey Athletic Conference opener.
The Profs (4-2, 1-0 NJAC) received an outstanding performance from senior Amanda Jennings (Turnersville, NJ/Washington Twp.) as she registered a game-high 22 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jennings was 9-for-12 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
The Lions (2-3, 0-1 NJAC) battled hard all game, but came up on the short end after winning their last two contests. Junior Keri Washington (Ewing, NJ/Pennington Prep) paced TCNJ with 17 points and 8 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to overcome an up-tempo Rowan unit.
The Lions came out shooting the ball well early in the first half and held a 12-8 advantage with under 13 minutes remaining. But the offense went cold as Rowan bottled up the TCNJ inside game. The Profs outscored TCNJ 18-5 over the next eight minutes to gain a 28-17 advantage.
Stephanie Prall (Kinnelon, NJ/Kinnelon) drilled a three-pointer at the 2:32 mark and assisted on a Jessica Imhof (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) bucket to cut the Rowan lead to 30-24 at the half. The Lions shot just 29 percent from the floor while the Profs shot 52 percent led by Jennings 5-of-6 shooting and 12 first-half points.
Coach Dawn Henderson lit a fire under her squad as they blazed out to a 14-2 run to start the second half to take a 38-32 lead. Rowan responded by rattling off 13 unanswered points to regain a 45-38 advantage with less than 10 minutes left. The game balanced out as the teams traded baskets over the next five minutes, but with 4:20 remaining, Jennings hit a basket underneath to put the Profs up 57-50.
At the 2:04 mark, TCNJ guard Karen Lassoni (East Rutherford, NJ/Becton Regional) hit a three-point jumper to make it a 59-56 game, but Rowan's quick and aggressive zone defense made it difficult to find many open inside or outside shots.
Sophomore Hannah Tait (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists while freshman Candace Vigo (New Brunswick, NJ/New Brunswick Health Science Tech) chipped in with eight points, six rebounds, and three blocked shots.
Rowan senior guard Danielle Rohe (Dumont, NJ/Dumont) had a productive game netting 12 points and grabbing five rebounds while junior Gina Catanzariti (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) finished with 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
TCNJ will be back in action on Friday night at 8 p.m. when they take on Frostburg University in the Optimist Classic held at Salisbury University. The Lions return home to Packer Hall on Wednesday, January 6th when they host Alvernia College. Rowan heads to John J. College on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip-off.
