Mahwah, NJ: The William Paterson University women's basketball team defeated Ramapo College tonight in NJAC action, 66-53. The Pioneers move to 11-4 overall and 7-1 in the conference while the Roadrunners now stand at 2-13 overall and 1-7 in the league.
WPU stretched their lead to seven at the end of the first quarter before scoring 12 points in the second to take a 31-24 lead into halftime. Renee Wells drained a three-pointer for the Pioneers with 21 seconds on the clock in the second to give WPU the seven point halftime lead. WPU used a big third quarter by scoring 21 points and held the Roadrunners to just nine points. Ramapo did outscore WPU in the fourth quarter 20-14 as the Pioneers held on for the 66-53 road victory.
Four Pioneers scored in double figures including three starters. They were led by
Brianna Smith with 15 points, three steals and two assists while Patty Walsh posted 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds along with two blocks. Wells and Leilani Pinder each tallied 11 points while Wells added five steals and six rebounds. The Pioneers shot 36% (23-63) from the field, 22% (5-22) from the three-point line and 75% (15-20) form the free throw line. The Pioneers forced 26 Ramapo turnovers which led to 22 points for WPU in the game.
For Ramapo,
Alison Ahern posted a season high 19 points while grabbing seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block.
Emma Cartwright added nine points while
Jocelyn Huancaya added seven points and two assists.
Lauren Flatt contributed with five points, five rebounds and one steal. Ramapo shot 44% (20-45) from the field and 68% (13-19) from the free throw line. The Roadrunners recorded 13 points off WPU turnovers as the Ramapo defense forced 19 Pioneer turnovers in the game.
Ramapo returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 18th when they travel to Stockton University for a NJAC game at 1:00 PM.
