Box Score

CENTER VALLEY, PA. – Nineteen unanswered points helped the William Paterson women's basketball team (2-0) earn a 71-62 victory against Scranton (1-1) in the first round of DeSales' Starters Pub Tip-Off Tournament Nov. 20. The Pioneers will face Ursinus in the championship game Sunday, Nov. 21, at 3:00 p.m.

Junior forward April Smith (Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional) posted a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds, adding four blocked shots, while junior guard BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) contributed 14 tallies, seven boards, six assists and three steals. Sophomore forward Tatiana Javis (Newark, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) and freshman guard Floriana Borova (Cresskill, N.J./Cresskill) each added eight points.

Tied at 11-11 with 12:03 to play in the first half, the Pioneers reeled off a 19-0 run to take a commanding 30-11 lead with 5:23 to play as the Royals were 0-for-13 from the floor while committing five turnovers during the stretch. William Paterson owned a 44-20 advantage at the break, and led by as many as 25 during the second half before substituting liberally for the remainder of the contest.

Megan Kopecki paced the Royals with 20 points, adding eight rebounds. Katie Cunningham had 11 points and Alison Sweeney posted 10, while Sarah Gage contributed a team-high nine rebounds to go along with seven tallies.