Galloway, N.J. – Stockton University fought hard but came up just short in a 65-61 loss to Rowan in the season finale on Wednesday night.
The Ospreys struggled in the first quarter, grabbing seven rebounds to Rowan's 12, falling behind 14-9. However, Stockton found their rhythm and narrowed the gap in the second period to just two points at halftime, 25-23.
Grace Speer (Estell Manor/ACIT) and
Imene Fathi (Wildwood/Wildwood) helped keep Stockton in the fight, each putting up seven points, with Speer grabbing five rebounds.
Rowan's Kate Herlihy fueled a big third-quarter run, scoring 17 points as the Profs took their largest lead of the game at 15. Despite the deficit, Stockton refused to back down.
The Ospreys fought back in the fourth with a seven-point scoring run, led by a historic performance from Speer. She finished with a career-high 34 points, the fourth-highest total in Stockton women's basketball history.
Speer also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds while Fathi finished with 14 points and seven boards. Freshman
BrookeLyn Graham (Paulsboro/Paulsboro) snagged a career-high six rebounds to go with four points and three steals.
Rowan's Herlihy ended the night with 36 points for Rowan, but Stockton's late push kept the game within reach until the final moments.
The young Stockton team with just two seniors finished the season with 11 victories overall, including seven in conference play.