GLASSBORO, N.J. (January 16, 2016) - Junior guard Maria Simmons, senior guard Arianna Williams and junior guard Shala Glenn all were in double figures but the Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team suffered a 72-59 New Jersey Athletic Conference loss at Rowan University Saturday afternoon.

R-N drops to 5-11 overall and 1-8 in the conference, while Rowan improves to 14-1 overall and 8-0 in the NJAC. The Scarlet Raiders return to the hardwood Wednesday night when they visit New Jersey City University.

The Profs raced out to an early 8-2 lead, but five points from Williams pulled the Raiders within three (10-7) with 6:47 to play in the first. R-N would get within one after a made jumper from Glenn, but Rowan responded to open a 23-16 margin after one.

A three-point play from Simmons sliced the Rowan lead to four at 25-21 3:02 into the second, but the Raiders were unable to get any closer as the Profs extended the lead to nine at the break. Glenn had all 10 of her points in the first half, Simmons had eight as did Williams and sophomore guard Nicole Skelly added six.

Rowan was able to extend its lead in the third quarter and led by 20 (61-41) heading into the fourth. Up by nine early in the quarter, the Profs were able to use a 14-4 run to open a 58-39 lead with 2:02 left in the period, taking a firm grasp of the momentum and essentially sealing the win.

Despite the large deficit, Rutgers-Newark battled through the final horn, outscoring Rowan by seven points in the last 10 minutes and closing the game on a 12-5 run. Williams scored eight of the 12 points in the rally, hitting a pair of three-pointers.

R-N shot 38.1 percent (25-for-67) from the floor, 27.8 percent (5-for-18) from distance and 60 percent (6-for-10) at the stripe.

Rowan ended with a 48-35 margin on the glass, including a 16-8 edge in offensive rebounds, but the Raiders held an 18-6 advantage in fastbreak points and each side registered 12 steals.

The Profs shot 37.3 percent from the field, 33.3 percent (9-for-27) from three and 13-for-17 at the line.

Simmons scored a team-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, adding five assists, four steals and four rebounds, while Williams had 19 points, four rebounds and four steals. Glenn finished with 10 points, five boards and two steals, and sophomore guard Nicole Skelly had eight points, a team-high eight rebounds and two steals.

Senior Kate Matthews led Rowan with 12 points and 14 rebounds, and senior Kaitlin Schullstrom had 16 points and six rebounds.