WAYNE, NJ – The Rowan University women's basketball team had a 72-53 victory at William Paterson University for the 20^th win on the season.
 
The Profs are 20-3 overall and in first place of the New Jersey Athletic Conference with a 14-2 mark.  They are ranked second in the first NCAA Atlantic Region Rankings. The last time Rowan had 20 wins was in 2015-16 when it finished the year with a 23-6 record.
 
Guard Savanna Holt led the way with 16 points off the bench.  Guards Grace Marshall and Kennedy Brown each contributed with nine points.  Guard Nicole Mallard and forward Eliana Santana chipped in with seven points apiece.  Center Ayanna Johnson grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots.  Guard Paige Caldwell collected seven boards while Mallard and Marshall both had six.     
 
For the Pioneers, guard Jykayla Elting produced a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Forward Justina Cabezas scored eight points and guard Alisa Giordano followed with seven.  William Paterson is 9-13 overall and 8-8 in the conference.
 
Rowan was ahead 24-19 going into the third quarter . Elting made a layup (5:03) and William Paterson trailed by six (33-27).  The Profs started to pull away with a 10-1 run (1:45) to lead by 15 (43-28).  Guard Alexis Kriley scored four points in the surge while guard Carleigh Burns and Holt each had three.  Kriley made two points at the line (0:56) and Holt added a layup (0:41) for an 18 point advantage (49-31).  Cabezas had the last basket of the quarter with 31 seconds remaining.
 
Elting cut the deficit to 13 (53-40) with a layup at 7:51 in the final period.  It was the closest the Pioneers came for the remainder of the game.  Rowan was ahead 66-44 (3:26) after eight straight points.  Brown registered four points while Marshall and Mallard each had two. Holt nailed a three with 1:24 left, which gave the Profs their biggest lead of 23 points (72-49).  She scored 13 points in the second half.