Mahwah, NJ:  Senior guard Julie Haledjian (Montvale, NJ) netted 27 points leading her Pioneers of William Paterson to a 73-66 victory over the Roadrunners of Ramapo College in a New Jersey Athletic Conference women's basketball match-up tonight at the Bradley Center. 

Haledjian shot 9-18 from the field, including 3-6 from the arc and 6-6 from the charity stripe, in route to her team's sixth win of the season, first in the conference, to remain undefeated at the start of the 2009-2010 season.  The Pioneers (6-0, 1-0 NJAC) shot a combined 25-70, 36%, in the game.  Haledjian grabbed five steals and dished out seven assists while Erin Cook (Princeton, NJ) pulled down a team high 13 rebounds.

The Pioneers led the entire match-up except for a brief 5:27 in the first period when Ramapo's Lindsey Gripenburg (Bloomingdale, NJ) tied the game at ten points at 15:01 before rookie Meghan Reilly (Morganville, NJ) gave the Roadrunners a two-point advantage, capitalizing on a two-shot foul with 14:15 to play in the first half.  The two teams traded baskets until 9:34 when the Pioneers gained the lead, 21-20, with a basket from BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, NJ).  This sparked a 15-2 run, capped off by a Elisa Brown (Norwalk, CT), with just over five minutes to play, giving WPU a 12-point, 35-23 edge over Ramapo.  William Paterson would finish the half with an 11-2 run to close out the first half with a 20-point lead, 46-26, at the buzzer.

Haledjian gave the Pioneers their biggest lead of the game just 36 seconds into the second half, 48-27 (21), and the Roadrunners (3-2, 0-1 NJAC) spent the next 12:38 slowly chipping away at the Pioneers lead.  Ramapo would come within single digits with 7:26 to play in the game when junior Stephanie Cannizzaro (Pequannock, NJ) hit a jump shot closing in, 51-59.  The Roadrunners strung together a 6-1 run, sparked by a Tiffany Osorio (North Brunswick, NJ) free throw, and capped off by a jumper from Danielle Beam (Middletown, NJ) with three minutes to play, to come within four points, 61-65.  WPU pushed in the final minutes outscoring Ramapo, 8-5 for the 73-66 NJAC victory.

Ramapo combined shooting 25-52 (48%) in the game, behind 8-10 shooting from Reilly for a team leading 18 points.  Reilly grabbed six boards with four assists while Gripenburg chipped in 15 points on the night.

The Roadrunners return to action on Tuesday, December 8th when they travel to FDU-Florham for a 6:00 PM non-conference, while the Pioneers take on York (NY) on Saturday at 3:00 PM at the Rec Center in Wayne, NJ.