The Profs were victorious in their final game of the regular season, defeating Stockton, 70-60, at Esbjornson Gymnasium in Glassboro. Finishing the season 16-9 overall and 12-6 within their conference, Rowan leaps ahead of Montclair State and Stockton to secure the third seed in this year’s New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Playoffs.
“I think we’ve had different people step up different games and been able to connect a little bit more on the outside, which helps with our inside-out game,” head coach Kate Pearson said. “They’re just playing team basketball. It’s been, you know, they don’t care who it is as long as we’re sharing the ball and getting opportunities.”
Megan Donelson put together a complete game, with the freshman tallying a season-high 17 points to go along with 10 boards in what was her fourth double-double of the winter. Donelson has had an impressive first year, averaging 8.6 points and six rebounds per game while leading the team with 33 steals.
“We had a lot of energy coming out from the start, and it really fired me up to get them points,” Donelson said.
Behind by a single basket at the half, the Profs continued their lights-out shooting to separate themselves from the Ospreys in the next 20 minutes. Rowan has shot 30% or higher from deep in their last five games, but it didn’t stop Stockton from fighting back.
“I was a little bit worried there,” Pearson said. “You can just never count anybody out, especially Stockton plays tough, and they play hard the whole game through.”
One player absolutely finding shooting success is Emily Poulas, who came off a stellar performance against Rutgers-Newark last week. The sophomore has turned into a flamethrower with eight makes in her last two games combined.
“The confidence [my teammates] have in me, I feel like, gives me confidence to just let it go,” Poulas said.
Since losing to Stockton on the road back on Jan. 14, Rowan has won eight of their last ten to close out the season in spectacular fashion. Thanks to recent performances, the Profs now get to return home on Saturday, in a building where the team is 9-2 on the year.
“I think that definitely helps us being at home,” Poulas said. “I feel like we’re just ready to turn it to that next level, knowing that if we win or go home at this point.”
Rowan’s first playoff opponent will be the six-seeded Rutgers-Camden Scarlet-Raptors, whom the brown and gold defeated twice throughout the season, with one of those contests heading into double overtime. The Profs look to make it past the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2022-23, the year Rowan last won the NJAC Championship.
“Just knowing that we can play through adversity,” Pearson said. “We’ve had games that we’ve lost when we should have won, we’ve had games that we’ve come out in a double overtime, they’ve kind of seen it all throughout this season, which doesn’t always happen, and I’m hoping that can help us as we go into playoffs.”
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