Women’s basketball on a tear, has big NJAC matchup coming up

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Nicole Mallard in a game against NJCU on Dec 7. Mallard scored a game high 19 points in the teams most recent game against NJCU on Jan 25. - Photo / Rowan Athletics

The Rowan Women’s basketball team is in the middle of a streak of dominance.

The Profs are currently sitting atop the NJAC standings at 10-1 (16-2 overall) with less than a month to go in the regular season and are currently out-scoring their opponents by 16 points per game, and are averaging over 80 points per game as a team. The team has now won four in a row, and 13 of their last 14 games.

“I think [it’s]  just the momentum we have right now,” said guard Nicole Mallard. “We’re really on a roll right now, especially in the NJAC and that definitely helps us in every game. We know every game, we’re the team that everyone wants to beat. We have a lot of momentum and that helps us every game.”

With momentum on their side, Head Coach Demetrius Poles said it’s also the team’s identity that helps them compete and win.

“First and foremost our young ladies are not about ‘me’, they’re about ‘we’ and it just shows,” Poles said. “Every game somebody different takes over and someone different is the so-called ‘star’. We don’t have a selfish bone in our bodies.”

Even with the strong play, the Profs still have just a one game lead in the NJAC, with TCNJ and Montclair both at 9-2 right behind them. To make it more interesting, the Profs play both teams in two of their next four games.

“We’re gonna have to have a couple tough practices so we’re prepared both physically and mentally,” Mallard said. “TCNJ is a big game because we’re probably the two best teams in the conference, so we have to compete and practice hard.”

Poles, however, offered a different mentality on how to navigate the tough schedule coming up.

“We just want to have fun. We just want to work hard, have fun and be ourselves, but confident in what we do,” Poles said. “If we do that, we’ll be just fine.”

Whether it’s hard work or having fun, the Profs are determined to win no matter what it takes. The team is prepared to take care of business and make sure they continue the winning ways and earn the one-seed for the NJAC tournament.

The Profs next game is on Wednesday, January 29 at home against TCNJ, one of the biggest matchups of the season. The Profs won 68-57 in their first matchup, which was the second NJAC game of the year for the team. With the season well underway at this point, the matchup will surely have a different feel this time around.

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