Women's Basketball 1/21/2009 7:38:54 PM William Paterson Sports Information

Women's Basketball Uses 26-4 Lead to Cruise to 59-32 Victory

Pioneers Defeat Visiting Rutgers-Newark Thanks to Stifling Defense

Sophomore Absatu Mustapha scored nine of her game-high 15 points during the first half of a 59-32 victory against Rutgers-Newark.

Box Score

WAYNE, N.J. – William Paterson (14-4, 6-0 NJAC) jumped out to a 26-4 lead and never looked back, cruising to a 59-32 victory against Rutgers-Newark (8-9, 2-4 NJAC) in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) women's basketball action Jan. 21 at the Rec Center.

The Pioneer defense held Rutgers-Newark to 2-for-5 shooting and nine turnovers during the Scarlet Raiders' first 14 possessions, while William Paterson was 10-for-14 from the field with six steals during the game's first 8:43 to build the early 22-point cushion. At the conclusion of the opening 20 minutes, the Pioneers had turned 18 Raider turnovers into 16 points, taking a 30-14 lead into the locker room.

Rutgers-Newark came out of the break fighting, using an 8-2 spurt to make it a 10-point game at 32-22, but William Paterson snuffed out the Scarlet Raiders' comeback hopes with a 15-4 run of its own, opening up a 47-26 advantage with 9:01 remaining in the contest.

Sophomore forward Absatu Mustapha (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) scored nine of her game-high 15 points during the first half, and finished the contest with four rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Erin Cook (Princeton, N.J./Princeton) chipped in 13 tallies, sophomore forward April Smith (Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional) had seven points and a team-best seven rebounds, junior guard Julie Haledjian (Montvale, N.J./Pascack Hills) dished out a game-high seven assists, and freshman guard BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) compiled eight tallies and four steals.

Senior Bimpe Fageyinbo and freshman Tiffany Clarke each scored six points for Rutgers-Newark. Clarke also blocked seven shots, while Fageyinbo collected a game-high nine rebounds.

The Pioneers used 46.7 (7-15) percent shooting from beyond the arc and 31 points off of 29 Scarlet Raider turnovers to pull away from Rutgers-Newark. The 32 points were the fewest allowed by William Paterson since Feb. 2, 2005, when the Pioneers defeated visiting Rutgers-Newark, 53-31.

William Paterson will return to action Saturday, Jan. 24, at The College of New Jersey at 1:00 p.m.

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