Box Score

WAYNE, N.J. – In a battle of the New Jersey Athletic Conference's two unbeaten teams, the William Paterson women's basketball team (18-2, 8-0 NJAC) came out on top, defeating No. 21 Kean (17-2, 7-1 NJAC) 69-57 Jan. 27 at the WPU Rec Center.

The Cougars took control of the game early, jumping out to a 28-18 lead 5:15 before halftime. The Pioneers' defense stiffened, as Kean made just one of its final nine field-goal attempts, and WPU ended the half on a 16-6 run to pull even (36-36) at the intermission.

The two teams traded baskets to start the half, but when a technical foul was called on the Kean bench less than four minutes into the period, William Paterson took advantage, scoring seven unanswered points to take a 45-38 lead with 14:25 to play. The Cougars snapped out of their drought to immediately answer with a 7-1 spurt and pull within one (46-45, 10:30), but William Paterson got points from five different players during the next four minutes, and eventually pulled away for a 16-point bulge (65-49, 4:26) and the victory.

The win, the 16 th straight for the Pioneers, was due in large part to improved field-goal shooting. William Paterson made 47.3 (26-55) percent of its attempts, and limited the Cougars to 33.3 (23-69) percent overall, including a 0-for-7 effort from beyond the arc.

Senior Luci Custis (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) led the William Paterson offense with 16 points, four assists and three steals. Freshman Elisa Brown (Norwalk, Conn./ Norwalk) added 15 points, four assists and three steals to her team-high eight rebounds, while junior Michelle Pellichero (Milltown, N.J./Bishop Ahr) posted 10 points and seven assists for the Pioneers. Brown and Pellichero combined to play excellent defense on NJAC leading scorer Melissa Beyruti. After Beyruti made three of her first five attempts from the floor, she missed her next nine shots. Finally converting a basket in the game's final 10 seconds, Beyruti finished 4-of-15 overall and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc for a team-best 12 tallies.

Sophomore Stephanie Summers (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) scored all six of her points during the 16-6 run that ended the first half. She also played a significant role during the second stanza after Lori Custis (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) was forced to leave the game with an injury and Melissa Moore (East Orange, N.J./North Bergen) went to the sideline in foul trouble.

William Paterson received votes in this week's d3hoops.com National Top 25 Poll (13 votes, tied-32nd). Kean was 21 st in the same rankings.

The Pioneers will start a two-game road swing Wednesday, Jan. 31, at Montclair State at 6:00 p.m.