Brandywine Falls At Rowan In Season Opener

GLASSBORO, New Jersey -- Rowan ran out to a 21-5 lead and never looked back during a 89-53 victory over the Penn State Brandywine women's basketball team in the Lions' season opener on Monday night at Esby Gymnasium.

Stacey MacArthur (Newtown Square, Pa./Delco Christian) led the Lions with 12 points, while Jilly Gledhill (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) contributed 10 points and Lauren Munro (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) added seven points and seven rebounds. Alyssa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) tallied nine points and seven boards during her collegiate debut.

Plagued by foul trouble during the early going, Brandywine allowed Rowan to capture control by scoring 31 of the game's first 40 points.

Gledhill, MacArthur and Chrissy Gledhill (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) connected on three-pointers in succession to pull the Lions within 19, but Valerie Garofalo answered with a triple of her own, her third of the first half, to push the lead back to 22.

After trailing 48-24 at the break, Brandywine opened the second stanza with a 7-4 spurt; however, the Lions would get no closer as the Profs limited Brandywine to one field goal during a span of nearly six minutes, using a 12-2 run to seize control.

Rowan connected on 44 percent (32-72) of its shots from the field, while making 31 trips to the free throw stripe, sinking 19. Brandywine was held to 29 percent shooting (19-64).

Behind 7-of-8 shooting, Garofalo paced all scorers with 21 points in a reserve role. Bria Hill produced 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Profs, who held a 56-38 edge on the glass.

Brandywine opens PSUAC play on Saturday with a 1:00 pm game against Penn State Lehigh Valley at Stabler Arena on the campus of Lehigh University.