GLASSBORO, NJ -- Fifth-seeded Kean knocked off fourth-seeded Rowan, 74-68, in a quarterfinal game of the 2025 New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament here at Esbjornson Gymnasium on Saturday.

Kean moves on to play at top-seeded TCNJ in the semifinals on Wednesday. Rowan ends the season with a 17-9 record.

Kate Herlihy paced the Profs with 21 points with Haley Selmer adding 10 off the bench. It was the second year in a row the two teams met in a first-round playoff matchup.

The Cougars' Erika Mercedes totaled a game-high 24 points while teammates Brittany Graff and Cara McCoy each put in 18.

In the opening quarter, three three-point field goals by Kean were the difference with the Cougars taking a 15-11 lead. Kean led 30-21 with 2:31 remaining in the second before Rowan went on an 8-2 run, led by four points from Shayla Johnson, to cut its deficit to 32-29 at halftime.

The Profs started the third quarter with a 9-2 spurt to take a 38-34 advantage. Kean eventually regained the lead, hitting three three-pointers and going up 49-48, before Haley Selmer's layup put the Profs up, 50-49, at the end of the third.

Mercedes and Graff scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to give the visitors a 58-50 lead. Rowan's leading scorer Herlihy spent three minutes on the bench after picking up her fourth foul, but she returned and scored five points, including a big three-pointer to knot things up at 60-60 3:36 to play.

Kean answered with seven in a row capped by a three from McCoy to take a 67-60 lead with 1:17 remaining. Herlihy struck again from downtown to get the Profs within four (67-63) with just over a minute in regulation, but the Cougars were able to hit 7-of-10 attempts from the free throw line to help pull away late in the contest.

Johnson totaled seven points with Sabrina Araujo kicking in eight. Charlotte Carlies was the top rebounder with a game-high 10. Selmer added five boards, five assists, a pair of steals and a blocked shot.