The winter season has officially arrived for Rowan women’s basketball, and the Profs look to make their mark in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) this season. The Profs were labeled as the third best team in the NJAC preseason poll.
Rowan is coming off a year that produced a 17-9 overall record and a 13-5 in the NJAC, good enough to become the fourth seed in the previous edition of the conference tournament. Unfortunately for the brown and gold, it was the Kean Cougars that ended Rowan’s hopes of a title in the NJAC quarterfinal at Esbjornson Gymnasium.
Besides the early exit, last season featured an extraordinary feat achieved by Kate Herlihy, a graduated senior, who became the 20th player in Rowan women’s basketball history to eclipse 1,000 points in a career. Herlihy led the NJAC last season with 18.4 points per game and is a huge loss for the Profs.
Rowan will be without their top three scorers from a year ago this winter. Herlihy, as well as Sabrina Araujo and Kristina Johnson, accounted for nearly 50% of all points Rowan scored per game on average last year. All three players were also key contributors to a Profs team that was second best in the conference from beyond the arc, hitting 119 threes combined.
Now, the challenge of creating a new identity falls under the responsibility of third year head coach Kate Pearson. In her first two seasons at the helm, Pearson has a 29-23 record while helping Rowan make back-to-back appearances in the NJAC postseason.
While Pearson looks to offer guidance from the bench, seniors Charlotte Carlies, Victoria Crooker, Jess McLaughlin, Jes Mastriano, and Tuts Davis aim to set the tone on the court. Carlies had a strong junior campaign that saw her lead the team in total blocks (32) and rebounds per game (5.7). She also enters the season as the Prof’s best returning scorer, averaging 5.5 points a game.
Rowan will also rely on junior Haley Selmer to make a leap in the new season. Selmer scored just under five points a game while making 43% of her shots, which was second best on the team.
In addition to Selmer, sophomore Abigail Jazmin could have a sophomore rise considering the impressive freshman season she put together. Jazmin led all newcomers in scoring (4.7 points per game), total assists (30) and steals (22).
Looking ahead, the Profs will play 11 of their 25 games on the schedule at Esbjornson Gymnasium in Glassboro. Rowan starts their season on Sunday at Elizabethtown College before their home opener takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 12, when they will welcome Delaware Valley.
Rowan women’s basketball begins conference play against Montclair State on Tuesday, Nov. 25, as the Profs hope to capture the NJAC title for the first time since the 2022-23 season.
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