COUGARS CRUISE TO 13th STRAIGHT VICTORY
UNION, N.J. (01/30/08) - Guards Cardiss
Jackman (Tobyhanna, Pa.) and Melissa Beyruti
(Union City, N.J.) combined for 44 points to help lead the
seventh ranked Kean University women's basketball team to a 89-64
victory over Rowan University in New Jersey Athletic Conference
action on Wednesday evening.
Jackman finished with a game-high 23 points in the
13th straight win for the Cougars (18-1, 6-1 NJAC),
while sophomore Jillian Kane(Ridgefield Park,
N.J.) led Rowan (11-7, 4-3 NJAC) with 28 points off the
bench.
In the opening half, Kean scored 13 unanswered points to build a
33-18 lead with 7:48 remaining before Rowan scored the final eight
points of the half to cut the Kean lead to six points (41-35) at
halftime.
Beyruti led the Cougars with 15 points in the opening half,
while freshman forward Tiffany Patrick (Piscataway,
N.J.) added seven points and five rebounds. Kane had
10 points in the first half to lead all Rowan scorers, and senior
guard Kristina Wallace (Logan Twp., N.J.) added
eight points and four assists.
After the Profs scored the first basket of the second half to
trim the lead to four points on a layup by sophomore
Jessica Nimbley (Middletown, N.J.), the Cougars
used a 19-4 run to quickly extend the lead to 19-points (60-41)
with less than 13 minutes left.
Kean led by as many as 29 points on a lay-up by sophomore
Ali Fontan (West Milford, N.J.) with just two
minutes remaining en-route to the 25-point victory.
The Cougars held a 56-35 advantage on the boards behind the
strength of senior center Chari' Cooper (Paulsboro,
N.J.) and her game-high 16 boards. Cooper, who also
scored nine points, moved into ninth place in NCAA Division III
history in career rebounding with 1,359 rebounds and is just 18
rebounds away from moving into fifth place.
Beyruti finished with 21 points, while Patrick had eight points,
nine rebounds and four steals. Off the bench, freshman
Angelica Bermudez (Belleville, N.J.) had eight
points and eight rebounds, and sophomore Danielle Brown
(North Brunswick, N.J.) added seven points and seven
rebounds in just nine minutes of action.
For the Profs, Wallace also finished in double-figures with 10
points, four assists and three steals, while Kane grabbed a
team-high eight rebounds.
The Cougars return to action on Saturday, February 2, when they
travel to Ramapo College in NJAC action at 1 p.m.
