Box Score
WAYNE, N.J. – The No. 13/13 William Paterson women's basketball team (12-0) scored the first 19 points of the second half to turn a 31-29 halftime deficit into a 69-50 victory against Union (1-7) in the first round of the William Paterson/Residence Inn Winter Classic Jan. 2.
The Pioneers advance to play in the championship game Sunday, Jan. 3, at 3:00 p.m. against Susquehanna, a 73-55 winner against New Paltz in the night's other contest. The Dutchwomen will play the Hawks in the consolation game Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
After a lethargic opening 20 minutes by the host team, William Paterson came out of the locker room and locked down the Dutchwomen defensively, forcing 18 turnovers and 0-for-5 shooting for the first 10:13 of the second half. When Megan Clark broke the scoreless drought with a 10-footer from the right baseline at the 9:47 mark, the Pioneers were comfortably ahead, 48-33. WP out-scored Union by a 40-19 score during the second period, producing 21 of those points off of 21 Dutchwoman turnovers while making 13 of 29 (.448) field goals overall and four of eight (.500) from three-point range.
Union took advantage of a 2-for-11 (.182) Pioneer effort from beyond the arc, as well as 17 trips to the free-throw line (compared to eight for WP) to forge a 31-29 halftime lead. The Dutchwomen went ahead for the first time when junior Lauren Hennessey knocked in a shot from the right block (23-22, 3:34), and four Clark free throws eventually gave Union a 28-24 edge with 2:17 remaining in the opening period. Sophomore BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) later got the Pioneers within one with a pair from the line (29-30, 0:47), but a 1-for-2 trip to the stripe by Union's Leah Pepe with 17 seconds left made it a two-point contest at the half.
Lucas scored 10 of her game-high 20 points during the first half for the Pioneers, and senior Elisa Brown (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) collected 11 of her 13 tallies after intermission. She added team bests of four steals and five rebounds, while freshman Lindsey Callander (Branchburg, N.J./Somerville) and senior Julie Haledjian (Montvale, N.J./Pascack Hills) each added seven points.
Clark led Union with 16 points and eight rebounds. Junior Lauren McCormick had seven tallies and six caroms, and sophomore Rachel Beaulac added seven points for the Dutchwomen.
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Box Score
WAYNE, N.J. – Susquehanna (6-5) used a 23-point performance by senior Ashley Watkins to pull away from SUNY New Paltz (5-2) for a 73-55 victory in the first round of the William Paterson/Residence Inn Winter Classic Jan. 2.
The Crusaders advance to play in the championship game Sunday, Jan. 3, at 3:00 p.m. against No. 13/13 William Paterson, a 69-50 winner against Union in the day's first contest. The Hawks will face the Dutchwomen in the consolation game Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
New Paltz used a 10-2 run midway through the first half to briefly take a one-point lead (22-21, 6:17), but Susquehanna scored the final eight points of the period to lead by that amount, 33-25, at the break. Four of those tallies came courtesy of junior Samantha Cartwright at the free-throw line, and classmate Rachael Hughes finished the scoring for the Crusaders with a jumper in the paint during the closing seconds. Both teams made nine field goals during the opening half, but SU was more efficient from the field (9-19, .474 compared to 9-33, .273) in building the advantage at the break.
The Hawks pulled within three at 45-42 less than nine minutes into the second half, but again the Crusaders had an answer, scoring seven of the next eight points to jumpstart a 20-4 run that gave Susquehanna a commanding 65-46 lead with 2:17 to play. The Crusaders finished the contest 20-for-45 (.444) from the field overall while holding New Paltz to a 29.7 (19-64) percent shooting effort, including a 6-for-22 (.273) night from three-point range.
Watkins was 7-for-12 from the floor and 9-for-11 from the line for her game-best 23 points. Sophomore Jessica Zigarelli had 10 tallies and 10 rebounds for Susquehanna, while Cartwright and sophomore Samantha Pelletier each added 10 points.
Senior Carly Minehan and classmate Maggie Farrell each scored 13 points for New Paltz.
