Box Score

WAYNE, N.J. – After scoring the game's first 12 points and entering the locker room with a 17-point edge, the William Paterson women's basketball team (16-5, 7-2 NJAC) continued to roll in the second half, pulling away for an 86-56 win against visiting Richard Stockton (11-11, 4-6 NJAC) Feb. 9.

Sophomore Elisa Brown (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) scored a career-best 19 points to pace the Pioneers, going 5-for-10 (.500) from the floor, 3-for-6 (.500) from three-point range and 6-for-8 (.750) from the line, and added five steals. Junior Asia Johnson (Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood) had her 10th double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while senior Lori Custis (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) was 7-for-14 (.500) for 15 points, and Michelle Pellichero (Milltown, N.J./Bishop Ahr) added 11 tallies. Freshman Christina Longo (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) posted her first career double-digit rebounding game with 10 boards, adding six points in 15 minutes off the bench.

For Richard Stockton, Lisa Neira became the eighth Osprey to reach the 1,000-point mark, surpassing the plateau at the 3:32 mark with a pair of free throws. She finished the game with 21 points (1,001 career), while Jenn Russell had 17 tallies and eight rebounds for RSC.

William Paterson built its 40-23 halftime lead behind 40.5 (15-37) percent shooting, and an 8-for-32 (.250) effort from the Ospreys. Richard Stockton was much more effective from the field during the second stanza, connecting on 52.6 (10-19) percent of its shots, but 16 second-half turnovers resulted in 21 Pioneer points.

The 86 points scored were the most for William Paterson since Nov. 21, 2006 (96-52 vs. New York City Tech), and the victory kept the Pioneers (7-2) in first place in the NJAC's North Division, 1.5 games ahead of Rutgers-Newark and Montclair State (6-4).

William Paterson will host local rival Montclair State Wednesday, Feb. 13, at 6:00 p.m., while Stockton will play at Rutgers-Camden Feb. 13 at 6:00 p.m.