Wayne, NJ: The William Paterson University women's basketball team came back to defeat Ramapo College tonight, 70-67, in NJAC action. The Pioneers move to 8-6 overall and 7-3 in the conference while the Roadrunners now stand at 6-7 overall and 5-5 in the NJAC.
Ramapo got on the board with a jumper from
Olivia Johnstone (9:04) which started a 10-3 run that was capped off by a three-pointer from
Bridget Cahill with 6:08 remaining. WPU scored a basket from Yakira Rosa before Cahill sank a pair of free throws with just over five minutes left in the quarter. That sparked a mini 6-2 run for the Roadrunners which was capped off with a jumper from
Jada Thompson and a pair of free throws from
Shannon Burns to give the team a 19-7 lead with 2:37 on the clock. WPU would go on a 7-0 run of their own as Victoria Palladino scored a jumper and three-pointer back-to-back before Justina Cabezas sank a layup.
Jackie Ventricelli scored the final points for either team in the quarter, a three-pointer to put Ramapo up, 22-14. In the second quarter, WPU started on a 6-2 run to close the gap to four before Ramapo went on a 7-0 run of their own to extend the lead, 31-20 with just over three minutes left in the quarter. Following a three-pointer from Brianna Smith, Ventricelli sank one for the Roadrunners and Thompson put in a layup for a 36-23 lead. Each team hit a three-pointer with under a minute to go, Cahill for the Roadrunners and Palladino for WPU, as Ramapo went into the locker room up 39-26.
WPU battled back in the third and fourth quarters as they were able to hold off a Ramapo comeback in the final minutes of action. In the third, Ramapo went up 44-28 with 7:24 on the clock on a jumper from Thompson before WPU went on a 12-6 run to shrink the Roadrunner lead to eight, 48-40. The two teams traded baskets in the final minutes of the quarter as Ramapo got the final points with a layup from
Alie Wickersheim for a 54-45 lead. In the fourth, Ramapo held a lead until 2:35 left to play. A 18-5 run capped off with back-to-back three-pointers from Smith gave WPU a 63-59 lead, a lead they would hold down the stretch to take home the NJAC victory, 70-67.
Four Roadrunners scored in double figures including two double doubles. Thompson posted 14 points and 12 rebounds, her fourth double double of the season. Wickersheim posted ten points and 11 rebounds, also her fourth double double of the year. Cahill netted 14 points while Ventricelli posted 13 points including three three-pointers and four assists. Olivia Johnston added nine points and four assists. The team shot 41% (26-63) from the field, 35% (7-20) from the three-point line and 66% (8-12) from the free throw line.
Four players scored in double figures for WPU as they were led by Cabezas who posted 20 points while Smith added 18 points including 5-8 from beyond the three-point line. Palladino added 15 points and four assists while Precious Allah posted a double double off the bench for WPU with ten points and ten rebounds. The Pioneers shot 42% (25-59) from the field, 42% (9-21) from the three-point line and 68% (11-16) from the free throw line.
Ramapo returns to action on Saturday, January 22nd when they travel to Stockton University for a NJAC conference game at 3pm.
