GLASSBORO, N.J. (February 10, 2018) – The Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team was defeated by New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) rival Rowan University, 88-58, Saturday night in the final regular-season road game of the 2017-18 season.
 
The Profs went on a 24-2 run to bridge the third and fourth quarters, and the Scarlet Raiders could not recover.
 
Rutgers-Newark falls to 7-17 overall and 2-15 in NJAC play, while Rowan moves to 14-9 overall and 11-6 in the NJAC. The Scarlet Raiders will look to end their season strong against The College of New Jersey Wednesday night in The Golden Dome. Prior to the game, R-N will honor its two seniors Nikki Sammartino and Nicole Skelly as part of the annual Senior Night ceremony.
 
Rowan played a solid first 10 minutes, outscoring the Scarlet Raiders 17-9 and closing the quarter on an 11-3 run to turn a 6-6 deadlock into an eight-point edge.
 
The Scarlet Raiders cut the Profs lead to just five points at the break. After going down by 11, a three-point play from sophomore Comfort Akinbo made it an eight-point game, and sophomore guard Hannah Ashby made a layup after a steal to pull Newark within six (22-16). Four-straight points from junior guard Faith Ashby pulled the guests within two (22-20), and after Rowan pushed its lead back to seven, Hannah Ashby nailed a jump shot to make the score 33-28 at halftime.
 
The hosts extended the lead back to 10 (41-31) with 6:37 to go in the third, and after Faith Ashby hit her first three-pointer of the night to make it 45-38, Rowan went on a 24-2 run to bridge the third and fourth quarters to put the game out of reach.
 
Faith Ashby led the Scarlet Raiders with 24 points, seven rebounds and five steals, and Hannah Ashby had nine points, three rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Louise Ann Borja had seven points, and both Skelly and Akinbo had five, with Akinbo notching two blocks and Skelly grabbing three rebounds. Freshman guard Ania Harrell led Rutgers-Newark with a team-high eight rebounds.
 
R-N shot 33.9 percent from the field, 3-for-14 from long range and 17-for-30 at the line. Rowan shot 47.9 percent from the floor, 4-for-12 from distance and went 16-for-24 at the stripe. The Profs held a 53-29 margin on the glass and each team posted 12 steals.
 
Four Profs were in double figures and they were led by 21 points, four rebounds and four steals from guard Alex Raring.