Box Score 

WAYNE, N.J. – Two first-year Pioneers helped extend William Paterson's postseason.

Sophomore forward April Smith (Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional) scored four of the team's final five baskets, and freshman guard BriAnna Lucas's (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) career-high ninth steal as time expired denied Rowan's best scorer an attempt at a game-winning shot, propelling the Pioneers (19-7, 10-3 NJAC) to a dramatic 51-50 victory against upset-minded Rowan (14-10, 7-6 NJAC) in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Women's Basketball Tournament Feb. 21 at the Pioneers' Rec Center.

The Pioneers, the second seed in the North Division, advance to play in the semifinals at The College of New Jersey, the top seed in the South Division, Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 7:00 p.m. In the other semifinal Feb. 25, the North's top-seeded Montclair State will host the South's second seed, Kean, after the Cougars dispatched Rutgers-Newark 68-33 in the first round.

Lucas scored a game-high 17 points, and added four rebounds and three assists, while Smith emerged as a trusty offensive option after halftime, scoring 12 of her 14 points after the break to pair with five rebounds. Junior Elisa Brown (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) recorded a season-high 10 boards and posted seven points and four steals for the Pioneers.

Two players finished with double-doubles for Rowan, as sophomore Gina Cantanzariti posted 15 points and 13 rebounds, and junior forward Amanda Jennings came off the bench with a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with 13 points. Senior Ashley Cieplicki chipped in nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks for the Profs.

The Pioneers won despite shooting 9-of-30 (30 percent) from the floor in the second half, and their 19-for-73 (26 percent) shooting overall eclipsed by the Profs, who finished 18-for-51 (35 percent) in the loss. The teams combined to shoot just 3-for-25 from beyond the arc.

William Paterson's defense and Rowan's carelessness on offense ultimately decided the back-and-forth affair. The Pioneers scored 33 points off 33 Profs turnovers, including Lucas' career-high ninth steal as time expired.

After two free throws from Cantanzariti cut the Pioneers' lead to 51-50 with 56.8 seconds left in the game, Lucas turned the ball over to end the Pioneers' ensuing possession with 33.1 ticks remaining. After Lucas deflected the initial inbounds pass out of play, Rowan was finally able to safely get the ball in with 32.4 seconds showing on the scoreboard. 

After a swarming WP defensive effort, the Profs were forced to call a timeout before a five-second call was made on the left-wing, stopping the clock with 16.5 seconds left. Facing a 1.5-second differential with the shot clock, Rowan inbounded and looked to get a clean look for a go-ahead basket, but Lucas stripped Catanzariti at the right elbow just as the shot clock was about to expire, and William Paterson was able to hold the ball and run out the remaining time.

Both teams traded blows late during the second half. Down 42-39 with 9:06 remaining, a Julie Haledjian (Montvale, N.J./Pascack Hills) steal led to a Smith layup, and another theft from Lucas later resulted in a Brown basket to give William Paterson a 45-44 advantage with 7:14 left.

Smith then scored the final two Pioneer baskets, a layup to regain the lead at 49-48 (5:36 left) and another close-range bucket in traffic from Haledjian with 12 seconds left on the shot clock, a backbreaker that gave William Paterson a 51-48 lead it would not relinquish with 93 seconds remaining.
Neither team was able to take control of the contest during the early going, as the largest first-half lead was eight by the Pioneers (27-19, 7:06) before the Profs scored the final seven points of the half for a 27-26 William Paterson edge at the break. William Paterson shot just 23.3 (10-43) percent from the floor compared to Rowan's 37.0 (10-27) percent effort, but the Pioneers converted 20 Prof turnovers into 19 points. Lucas led the Pioneers with eight points and four steals during the first 20 minutes, while Cantanzariti paced the Profs with eight tallies and seven rebounds.