On Saturday afternoon, the Ramapo women’s basketball team fell to Rowan University 54-41 on the road. The Profs improved to 13-7 overall and 9-4 in the conference while the Roadrunners now stand at 14-6 overall and 8-5 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
At this point in the season, Rowan seems to be the Roadrunners’ kryptonite. They are the only in-conference team Ramapo has lost to twice. In their first match-up, Rowan defeated Ramapo to snap an eight-game win streak for the Roadrunners.
In their most recent match-up, the two teams played tight first and second quarters as Rowan held a 21-20 lead at halftime. A strong third quarter for the Profs where they scored 23 points and held Ramapo to just 10 is when the momentum started to shift. Rowan went into the final quarter with a 44-30 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Ramapo kept fighting, going on a mini 7-2 run where they cut the lead to nine with six minutes on the clock. It was sparked by a basket from Karly Wittenbauer. Jackie Ventricelli then sank a three-pointer for the Roadrunners off a dish from Shannon Burns. Jada Thompson continued the scoring for Ramapo with another basket.
However, Rowan would extend their lead to 17 with an 8-0 run right after Ramapo’s, which gave them a 54-37 lead with under a minute on the clock. Ramapo concluded the game scoring the final four points, all at the free throw line.
Ventricelli led the Roadrunners with 18 points including a season-high four three-pointers and eight steals. Bridget Cahill added seven points and four rebounds. At the same time, Thompson grabbed eight rebounds while adding four points and two steals. Burns also grabbed eight rebounds in the game.
Ramapo had a great day defensively as they forced 27 Rowan turnovers in the game which led to 12 points for the Roadrunners. Yet when it came to the offense Ramapo struggled as they shot 25% (13-51) from the floor, 21% (5-23) from the three-point line and 47% (10-21) from the free throw line.
The Roadrunners return to action on Saturday, Feb. 4 when they travel to Rutgers-Camden at 1 p.m. The last time the two teams faced off it was a close game, but Ramapo came away with the 55-45 victory.
twaschek@ramapo.edu
Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics
