Box Score
GRANTHAM, Pa. – William Paterson (20-7) rallied to pull within a basket five times during the second half, but the Pioneers could not gain the upper hand in a 64-57 loss to St. Lawrence (24-4) March 7 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament in Grantham, Pa.
Trailing 30-18 at halftime, WP began the second half with an 11-2 run as four different Pioneers got into the scoring column, making it a 32-29 game with 15:31 remaining. The Saints eventually built their advantage back to eight (41-33, 11:34), but back-to-back
Christina Longo (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South) three-pointers made it a two-point contest at 43-41 with 9:48 to play.
St. Lawrence scored the next five points, the start of a 9-2 run (52-43, 7:48), but senior
Lori Custis (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) and Longo hit layups, and after a Saint basket, senior
Michelle Pellichero (Milltown, N.J./Bishop Ahr) converted a layup and a trey for a 54-52 St. Lawrence lead with 4:00 remaining.
The Saints answered by making six of eight free throws during the next 3:06 (60-52), followed by another Pellichero three that pulled William Paterson within five with 48.3 seconds on the clock (60-55). Two more St. Lawrence free throws, an
Asia Johnson (Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood) layup (62-57, 21.9) and another pair of points from the charity stripe for the Saints finished the scoring.
The Pioneers outrebounded the Saints 40-32, but St. Lawrence owned a 34-22 lead in points in the paint, and turned a 19-25 edge in turnovers into a 21-13 advantage in points off miscues. William Paterson shot 37.7 (23-61) from the field, including a 16-of-35 (.457) effort during the second half, and was 6-for-22 (.273) from three-point range and 5-for-9 (.556) from the line. St. Lawrence shot 44.2 (23-52) percent overall, 27.3 (3-11) percent from beyond the arc and 83.3 (15-18) percent from the stripe.
Pellichero finished her illustrious career with 15 points, while Johnson had 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Longo added 11 points and six rebounds off the bench, and Custis posted six points and five rebounds in her final game as a Pioneer.
St. Lawrence got out to the hot start in what was a very physical game, capitalizing on 15 Pioneer first-half turnovers to take the 12-point halftime lead. William Paterson made just seven of 26 (.269) attempts from the floor during the first 20 minutes, compared to the Saints' 13-for-30 (.433) shooting.
The Pioneers, the champions of the New Jersey Athletic Conference's North Division (11-2 NJAC), were making their second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and earned their seventh NCAA bid in the program's history.
