GLASSBORO, NJ – The Rowan University women's basketball team came back in the second half to win the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship with a 64-54 victory over Montclair State University.
 
The Profs (23-3) receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.  It is Rowan's seventh NJAC title and the first since 1998-99. The selection show for the NCAA tournament is on Monday, March 1 at 2:30 p.m. on ncaa.com.
 
"I told the team at halftime that execution offensively was not the greatest," said head coach Demetrius Poles.  "We all had to get on the same page.  I also told them that we were still in it even though we did not play well.  We were only down six points at the half.  We had 20 minutes to win and we did it"
 
The top seeded Profs trailed 39-33 and outscored the second seeded Red Hawks, 31-15 in the second half.  Guard Nicole Mallard scored a game-high 22 points.  She was 10-for-13 from the free throw line.  Guard Kennedy Brown contributed with 13 points and guard Grace Marshall chipped in with 10.  Center Ayanna Johnson grabbed 10 rebounds and broke the school record for career rebounds in a season.  She has totaled 354 boards while the old mark was 352 by Takiyah Bowen (1997-98).
 
Montclair State started the third quarter with an 11-3 run to lead by 12 points (48-36).  Guard Nickie Carter made eight of the 11 points.  Rowan answered with 12 straight points to tie the score at 48 at the end of the period. Mallard produced the last eight points for a total of 10 in the quarter.
 
With 3:59 left, guard Taylor Brown hit a three and the Red Hawks trailed 55-54.  Rowan scored the final nine points of the game.  Five players registered points in the surge.  Mallard produced 15 points in the second half.
 
Carter finished with 17 points.  Brown and forward Alex McKinnon had 13 and 10 points respectively.  Guard Cerys MacLelland recorded 13 rebounds and eight assists.
 
"Just coming from where I have been the last three years, it feels amazing," stated guard Alexis Kriley. "There is no other team that I would rather be doing this with.  It has been 21 years since the women's basketball team has won the conference tournament.  Every single girl on this team has put in so much work every single day.  We do everything together and we win each game as a team." 
 
"I knew I had to get going offensively (in the third quarter)," said Mallard.  "The team and coaches kind of rely on me to get to the basket and get to the line.  I knew we were down and I was trying to do my best because everyone wanted this so bad.  We have been talking about it for weeks and everyone was so nervous and excited today.  I wanted to do everything that I could to make my teammates, coaches and everyone happy."

During the regular season, Rowan split with Montclair State, falling 70-59 on the road and winning, 67-65 at home.  The Profs finished with a 16-2 record in the conference.  This week, Rowan is ranked second in the NCAA Atlantic Region.  The Profs moved up to 20^th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Coaches Poll.