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1999-2000 Press Release Index
EDINBORO, PA- Edinboro University women's basketball standouts Jessica Rowe (Columbus, OH/St. Francis DeSales) and Marin Hightower(Pittsburgh, PA/Perry) ended their careers among the all-time leaders in several categories in the Fighting Scot recordbooks. The post-season accolades have come to a close with the announcement of the Division II Bulletin All-American teams. Rowe earned first-team recognition by the basketball publication while Hightower was an honorable mention selection.
Rowe was joined on the first team by Jayne Even of North Dakota State, Ngalula Nana Lukengu of St. Rose, Bentley's Lauren Fuller and Tara Holloway of Emporia State.
The first-team selection was the second of the year for Rowe, as she was also a Kodak First Team All-American. Last week Hightower was honored as a Daktronics Third Team All-American. Both players were named to the Daktronics NCAA Division II All-East Region First Team. In addition, Rowe and Hightower were named to the All-PSAC West First Team, with Rowe taking home PSAC West Player of the Year honors.
Rowe finished her senior season averaging 21.3 ppg., the second-highest total in the PSAC, trailing only Hightower. The two high-scoring Edinboro players led the team to a 13-14 ledger and a birth in the PSAC postseason tournament.
Rowe, a 5'8' guard, finished the season with 576 points, the sixth-highest total at Edinboro. Her scoring average is third in school history and also ranked 11th in NCAA Division II. In addition, she set a new single season mark in three- point percentage at 46.2 percent (60 of 130). Rowe approached two other single season marks, in three-point field goals and foul shots made. Her 60 trifectas ranks second as does the 134 free throws she converted this season. She also led the Scots with 146 assists and grabbed 4.6 rebounds per game.
Rowe concluded her career as the all-time leading scorer witon as a Preseason Sweet Sixteen All-American.
The All-American is prominent throughout the Edinboro career record books. In addition to being the all-time leading scorer, she is third in field goals made (653), first in field goals attempted (1,604), second in three-pointers made (140) and second in three-pointers attempted (391), plus third in free throws made (400). She is also second in career assists (453) and tenth in steals (179).
Rowe scored in double figures in all but three contests and topped the 30-point mark four times, including a career-high 34-point effort in a 99-60 Edinboro win over Ohio Valley on November 20. She made six three-point field goals on three separate occasions, including 6 of 7 during the Ohio Valley contest. She matched the 34-point high on January 12 against Clarion when she converted on 12 of 18 shots, including 4 of 6 from three-point distance.
The Columbus, OH native led the Scots in scoring 12 times and paced the team in assists on 24 occasions. She also had five double-doubles and dished out 10-or-more assists four times. During her 116-game career, in which she won more games (77) than any other player at Edinboro, Rowe averaged 15.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Hightower, a 6'1" forward, was second in the latest NCAA rankings in scoring average at 23.6 points per game. That figure broke the previous Edinboro season record of 23.0 ppg. set by Tammy Walker-Strode in 1991-92. Last year, she was a second team All-PSAC West selection, and was also a first team All-Region performer. A preseason All-PSAC West first team selection like Rowe, Hightower also registered 8.6 rpg., good for second on the team, along with team highs of 54 steals and 41 blocked shots. She also led the team in field goal percentage, converting 47.3 percent from the field.
Hightower finished this season with 613 points, the third-highest total ever at Edinboro. That despite missing one complete game and sitting out the final 17 minutes of the Boro's PSAC playoff loss at Shippensburg. In addition, she made 127 free throws, also third best in school history, and converted 241 field goals, which is good for fifth all-time.
The 6'1" forward is scattered throughout the Edinboro career record books despite playing just three years for coach Stan Swank. She became the 18th player at Edinboro to crack the 1,000-point mark and moved into tenth place with 1,218 markers by the end of the season. Her career scoring average of 16.7 ppg. ranks fourth all-time while her 48.2 percent shooting from the floor is sixth. In addition, Hightower is ninth in field goals made with 483 and sixth with 248 made free throws. She also ranks ninth with 73 blocked shots and 14th in rebounding with 520 boards.
Hightower scored in double figures in all but two contests and topped the 30-point mark six times, including a career-high 36-point effort on 16 of 23 shooting from the field in a 82-63 Edinboro win over Lock Haven on February 26. That marked her third straight 30-point performance. She was well on her way to another one at Shippensburg, scoring 19 points with just three minutes gone in the second half, when she was lost for the rest of the game with a concussion. She led the Scots in scoring 14 times and recorded eight double-doubles.
During her 73-game career at Edinboro, Hightower averaged 16.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, while shooting 47.3 percent from the floor.
The combination of Rowe and Hightower was one of the highest scoring tandems at Edinboro. The duo combined to average 44.9 points per game this year, 55.4 percent of the Edinboro offense. The twosome also finished the season as the second-highest scoring tandem in Edinboro history with 1,189 points, just behind the 1,272 points scored by Tammy Walker-Strode and Jeannine Jean-Pierre during the 1991-92 season.
Their career scoring total of 3,064 points ranks second just behind Montique Wade and Sarah Bishop's 3,447 markers they accumulated from 1986-90.
~ Fighting Scots ~