The Ramapo women’s basketball team kicked off their run in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) playoffs on Saturday as the No. 5 seed against No. 4 Stockton University. They defeated the Ospreys 63-52 in the first round, earning them their first NJAC Tournament win in program history.
The game started out close for the teams, but the Roadrunners were able to overtake the Ospreys in the second quarter with an eight-point lead by halftime. Ramapo kept up the momentum into the second half and protected their lead for the duration of the game.
Senior guard Jada Thompson showed the strongest performance for the Roadrunners, securing an impressive 22 points and adding 13 rebounds. For Stockton, Emma Morrone led the team in points with 11 while Skylar Fowlkes added the most rebounds with eight.
Ramapo made 70% (21-30) of their free throws but were less impressive on the floor, shooting 37% (19-51) overall and 31% (4-13) for three-pointers.
The Roadrunners then advanced to the NJAC semifinals for the first time on Tuesday to face No. 1 The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). They fell 70-50 to the Lions in a tough game. Despite their efforts, they were behind by 18 points at halftime and remained behind TCNJ until the end.
Thompson once again led the team in points with 19 and added the most rebounds with 10. TCNJ’s Julia Setaro earned the most points for the Lions with 24 and Kaitlyn Deiter added 11 rebounds.
The Roadrunners were inefficient in this game, shooting 34% (19-56) overall, 31% (4-13) from the three-point line and 50% (8-16) on free throws.
After the game, senior guard Jackie Ventricelli was named the NJAC Defensive Player of the Year for 2023-24. Ventricelli is now the first player in program history to earn the honor in two consecutive seasons.
In 21 games this season, the guard led the team with 70 steals and broke the program career steals record earlier this month. Ventricelli’s 70 steals and 3.3 steals per game led the entire NJAC division. She was also named to the NJAC Second Team All-Conference.
Additionally, Thompson was named to the NJAC First Team All-Conference. She was also named to the NJAC All-Postseason Team for the third time in her career. Thompson dominated the NJAC this season, recording 13 double-doubles, leading the conference in assists, finishing second in blocks and second in steals. She also led the Roadrunners in points and rebounds with 14.1 per game and 9.9 per game, respectively.
Ramapo concludes the season with a 16-11 overall record and 11-7 in the NJAC. They now wait to learn if they will earn an Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament bid on Monday.
rgatherc@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics
