Box Score

WAYNE, N.J . – A 15-2 run to open the second half helped the William Paterson women's basketball team (7-2) pull away from Manhattanville (4-3) for a 75-63 victory Dec. 19 at the Rec Center.

The two teams battled during the opening 10 minutes, but a mini 5-0 Pioneer run gave William Paterson a 21-16 edge with 8:34 remaining in the opening period, and WP entered the locker room with a 35-27 lead. Manhattanville shot 52.4 percent from the field during the opening stanza compared to WP's 37.2 percent effort, but the Pioneers made five more field goals than the Valiants (16-11), owned a 24-14 advantage on the boards (15-1 offensive), and had just eight turnovers compared to Manhattanville's 15 miscues.

Five different Pioneers scored as William Paterson began the second half with a 15-2 burst, opening up a 21-point lead (50-29) with 14:42 on the clock. The Valiants never drew closer than 10 tallies for the remainder of the contest, as WP bounced back from a poor shooting effort during the opening stanza to make 16 of 36 (.444) shots after halftime.

Senior Lori Custis (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) scored 10 of her game-high 18 points during the first half, adding six rebounds and three steals for WP while making seven of 12 (.583) from the field. Classmate Michelle Pellichero (Milltown, N.J./Bishop Ahr) was 7-for-13 (.538) for 16 points, sophomore Elisa Brown (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) had eight tallies and four assists, and sophomore Jonnelle Rodriguez (Elizabeth, N.J./Carteret) added two assists and eight rebounds in her first collegiate start. William Paterson received votes in this week's d3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, and with the victory against the Valiants, extended its win streak to six games.

Olivia Nastasi paced Manhattanville with 17 points, while Kaliegh Lussier had 12 tallies and Simona Gordon added 11.