EWING, NJ – The Rowan University women's basketball edged The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in a hard fought New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) contest, 47-46 on Wednesday. 
 
The Profs are 12-7 overall and in first place in the conference standings with a 10-2 mark. The Lions drop to 10-8 on the season and have an 8-3 NJAC record. 
 
Guard Dominique Peters (jr. Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) had a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds. Guard Olivia Rulon (sr. Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) followed with 10 points, while guard Nicole Byrne (sr. Brick, NJ/Brick Mem.) added five. Center Ayanna Johnson (fr. Ewing, NJ/The Pennington School) corralled eight boards and had three blocks. 
 
Forward Jen Byrne (jr. Medford, NJ/Shawnee) led TCNJ with 10 points and six rebounds. Forward Shannon Devitt (so. Westfield, NJ/Westfield) was next with nine points and two blocks. Guards Sam Famulare (sr. Freehold, NJ/Freehold Twp.) and Kate O'Leary (sr. Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) contributed eight and seven points respectively. 
 
The score was tied at 45 after Peters converted a pair free throws late in the fourth quarter (2:20). The Lions took a one point advantage (46-45) after Jen Byrne drained one of two free throws with 44 seconds remaining. Rowan attacked the rim but was fouled and headed to the charity stripe to take the lead. After both free throws were unsuccessful, Peters grabbed a huge offensive rebound to keep the play alive. Rulon found the ball in her hands with the final shot but was fouled in the process sending her to the line. Rulon sunk each shot giving Rowan a 47-46 lead (:20). TCNJ took two shots in the final two seconds of the contest and both were blocked by Johnson. 
 
Rowan jumped out to a 6-1 lead over the Lions in the opening quarter. Johnson hit a jumper (8:49), Nicole Byrne drained two free throws (8:05) and Peters made a jumper (7:43). The Brown and Gold dominated first defensively, holding TCNJ one of nine from the floor. Jen Byrne hit a three with 37 seconds left to trim Rowan's lead to 8-7 going into the next frame. 
 
Each side kept fighting in the second as both teams never held a sizeable advantage. A three-pointer by Nicole Byrne at 7:31 gave the Profs a 15-11 lead. The Lions responded when Jen Byrne added four straight points to tie the game at 15 (6:35). The Brown and Gold pulled away by five (21-16) with 2:59 remaining, when Kriley and forward Paige Caldwell (so. Woodstown, NJ/Woodstown) hit back-to-back jumpers. TCNJ kept battling to tie the score at 23 heading into halftime. 
 
The Lions opened the third on an 8-0 run. O'Leary scored all eight points on two treys and a jumper. Rowan answered with a jumper from Kriley (6:34) and a three by Peters (5:55) to cut the deficit to 31-28. After a good layup from Devitt, the Brown and Gold notched six consecutive points for a 34-33 advantage going into the final quarter. 
 
The women's basketball team travels to Ramapo College on Saturday, Jan. 26, with tipoff set at 1 p.m.