Glassboro, NJ:  The Rowan University women's basketball team won 72-65 over Ramapo College in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

Rowan (17-8) plays at the North first seed William Paterson University (24-1) in the semifinals on Tuesday, February 23 at 7 p.m. In the other semifinal game, the South top seed Kean University (24-1) hosts the North second seed Montclair State University (16-9) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Montclair State advanced with an 80-70 first round victory against the South third seed Richard Stockton College.

The two semifinal winners meet in the championship at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 26 at the higher seed. The NJAC receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.

Rowan is the South Division's second seed. Forward Amanda Jennings (sr. Turnersville, NJ/Washington Twp.) led the Profs with game-highs of 31 points and 17 rebounds. Guard Gina Catanzariti (jr. Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) contributed with 18 points and eight boards. Guard Danielle Rohe (sr. Dumont, NJ/Dumont) added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Ramapo (11-15) was the third seed in the North Division. For the Roadrunners, guard Alexa Ryan (fr. Hazlet, NJ/Raritan) scored 17 points. Forward Lindsey Gripenburg (so. Butler, NJ/St. Joh's University) came off the bench for 13 points. Guard Faith Flannery (fr. Red Bank, NJ/Keansburg) chipped in with 10 points. Center Danielle Beam (jr. Middletown, NJ/Middletown N.) grabbed nine rebounds and had seven points. Guard Brittany Hoffman (jr. Bedford, NJ/Middletown S.) compiled nine points and seven boards.

Rowan was down by three points (34-31) to start the second half. Jennings had a jumper (18:47) and Cantanzariti recorded a three (18:06) that tied the score at 36. Rohe added a three-pointer at 17:35 to lead 39-36. At 16:33, Hoffman's layup knotted the game at 41. Gripenburg's jumper at 16:03 gave the Roadrunners a two point advantage (43-41). Rowan scored nine straight points to go ahead 50-43 with 11:14 remaining. Jennings registered four of the nine points. She had a three-point play (6:56) and a layup (6:02) that increased the lead to 12 points (59-47). Forward Michelle Lala (sr. Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) made a basket and foul shot at 4:31 (66-52). The Roadrunners followed with nine consecutive points to pull within five points (66-61) with 50 seconds on the clock. Flannery had four of the nine points. Ryan nailed a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to trail 69-64. The Profs made three of four foul shots to end the game.

Ramapo started the first half with seven straight points in 2:18. Hoffman and Ryan each hit a three-pointer while Beam had a foul shot. Rowan pulled within three points (7-4) after Lala's free throw at 14:09. Flannery's layup put the Roadrunners ahead 13-6 (12:51). Rohe made two foul shots at 12:02 that cut the deficit to three points (14-11). Ramapo answered with a three-point play by Beam (10:41) and a three-pointer by Ryan (9:51) to lead 20-11.

Jennings had a jumper at 8:49 and the Profs trailed 22-18. Ramapo went back up by nine points (27-18) on a three by Gripenburg. With 3:58, Jennings was good for two free throws that made the score 32-27. Ryan's layup at 1:24 gave the Roadrunners a seven-point advantage (34-27). The Profs closed the gap to three points (34-31) at the end of the period with Catanzariti's three-pointer (1:10) and guard Alissa Lamey's (so. Northfield, NJ/Mainland Reg.) free throw (00:04). Jennings scored 12 first half points while Ryan totaled 10.