By Joseph Caruso
Staff Writer
Rowan University defeated the College 71-51 in an early season rivalry matchup on Nov. 29. This marked the fourth win of the season for Rowan, and their first win in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). For the College, this was their third loss total and their first conference loss.
The Lions continued the beginning of their conference schedule in this game, traveling to Glassboro for the matchup against Rowan. The College kicked off their NJAC schedule in their last game on Nov. 21 by embarrassing Rutgers-Camden 114-55 in Packer Hall to become 3-2 on the year and 1-0 in conference play.
Rowan entered the game 3-3 on the young season, but dropped their inaugural conference game to Stockton, 48-40. They looked to get back on track when hosting the Lions for their second conference game.
The Lions started well, where graduate student Julia Setaro scored five quick points to give the Lions a lead going into the second quarter. She ended the first half with a game-high 13 points, but Rowan stormed back to tie the game at 26 going into halftime, thanks to a team-high nine points from fifth year guard Savanna Holt.
Rowan came out of the half on fire, and hit four of their five three point attempts in the third period, giving them a seven point lead over the College heading into the final 10 minutes of action.
Despite the Lions’ best efforts, the Profs shooting barrage continued, and their lead ballooned to as high as 22 points in the fourth quarter, before taking the victory 71-51 over the Lions.
Senior guard Eliana Santana led the way for Rowan with 17 points, and two of her teammates scored in the double digits as well. Setaro led the way for the Lions with 18 points, which gave her exactly 1,000 points for her career as a Lion, and was the lone Lion in double digits. Sophomore guard Katie Fricker also put together a solid statline with seven points and nine rebounds in the loss.
This was the first loss for the Lions in conference play this season, and dropped them to a .500 record at 3-3 in total. They will look to bounce back in more upcoming NJAC matchups when they host New Jersey City University this Saturday, Dec. 2 and travel to Kean University on Dec. 6.
