Box Score

WAYNE, N.J. (NOVEMBER 25, 2006) – The William Paterson women's basketball team (2-2) put a scare into No. 2 Bowdoin (3-0), but the Polar Bears eventually prevailed 69-55 Nov. 25 in the first round of the Montclair State/William Paterson Classic at WPU's Rec Center.

The Pioneers led for much of the first half, trailed by four at halftime (24-28) and pulled even at 32-32 3:35 into the second stanza. But, a pair of fast-break buckets, two free throws and a three-pointer helped push Bowdoin's lead back to nine (32-41, 13:55), and WPU could not cut the margin to less than eight for the remainder of the game.

William Paterson jumped out to a 13-7 lead to start the contest, and scored 14 of its 24 first-half points off of 12 Polar Bear turnovers. The Pioneers' defense helped harass Bowdoin into 22 miscues in total, resulting in 22 points for WPU. Bowdoin was ranked second in the d3hoops.com Preseason Top 25 Poll.

Senior 5-7 guard Luci Custis (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) led WPU with 19 points, three assists and three steals. Junior Lori Custis (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) led the Pioneers on the boards with seven rebounds. Senior 5-11 forward Eileen Flaherty (Fairfield, Conn./Lauralton Hall) paced the Polar Bears with her 26 points.

In the first game of the day, Montclair State (2-2) earned a 57-39 victory against Colby (0-3).

The Mules pulled to within three (16-13) midway through the first half, put the Red Hawks put together a 14-4 run on their way to a 30-19 halftime lead. Colby again cut into Montclair State's lead, getting to within seven three times in the first six minutes of the second stanza, but MSU answered with another spurt, this one an 11-2 run to put the contest out of reach.

Senior 5-11 forward Stephanie Machin led all scorers with 20 points, and added a pair of steals for the Red Hawks. Junior 5-10 guard Jessica Garrabrant added six points and a team-best seven rebounds for MSU. Senior 5-6 guard Tracy Nale led the Mules with 17 tallies.

The Red Hawks will host the second day of the Montclair State/William Paterson Classic on Sunday, Nov. 26. WPU will take on Colby at 12:00 p.m., followed by Bowdoin and host MSU at 2:00 p.m.