Box Score
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – William Paterson (18-5, 9-2 NJAC) jumped out to a 22-9 lead and cruised from that point, defeating New Jersey City (8-16, 3-9 NJAC) 71-59 Feb. 16 at the Gothic Knights' John J. Moore AFC.
Back-to-back threes by sophomore
Elisa Brown (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) helped the Pioneers open a 13-3 advantage to start the contest, and William Paterson steadily built that edge to a 12-point halftime lead (40-28). Junior
Asia Johnson (Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood) led eight Pioneer scorers with 11 first-half points, as WP shot 45.5 (15-33) percent from the floor and 46.2 (6-13) percent from beyond the arc.
NJCU knocked down a three-pointer to start the second half and cut the lead to nine (40-31, 19:31), but William Paterson responded with 11 unanswered points thanks to a
Michelle Pellichero (Milltown, N.J./Bishop Ahr) jumper, two
Lori Custis (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) free throws, four consecutive points by Johnson and a Pellichero three, making it a 51-31 score with 16:20 to play. The Pioneers maintained a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest, WP's 12th straight victory against the Gothic Knights.
Johnson finished with a game-high 19 points, shooting 6-for-12 (.500) from the floor and 7-for-11 (.636) from the free-throw line. She added nine rebounds, four steals and four blocked shots. Pellichero had 17 tallies on 6-for-11 (.545) shooting and a 4-for-8 (.500) effort from three-point range.
The win kept William Paterson (9-2 NJAC) in a three-way tie for first place overall in the NJAC standings with The College of New Jersey (9-2) and Kean (9-2). WP previously defeated both the Lions (71-67) and the Cougars (82-79) this season. The Pioneers, who have already clinched a berth in the NJAC Tournament, lead Rutgers-Newark (8-4) and Montclair State (6-5) in the North Division with two games remaining. The top team in each division will receive a first-round NJAC Tournament bye.
William Paterson will celebrate Senior Night when the Pioneers host Ramapo Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 6:00 p.m.
