Box Score

WAYNE, N.J. – Junior forward April Smith (Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional) tallied 29 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) had 26 points and eight assists, as No. 18/15 William Paterson (6-0, 1-0 NJAC) easily got past Montclair State (2-3, 0-1 NJAC) for a 90-76 victory in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) women's basketball season opener for both schools Dec. 1 at the Pioneers' Rec Center.

Trailing 10-8 four minutes into the contest, sophomore guard Lindsey Callander (Branchburg, N.J./Somerville) ignited a 13-0 run with a three-pointer, helping William Paterson to stake itself to a 21-10 advantage with 13:33 to play in the opening period. The Red Hawks briefly made it a two-possession contest (23-18, 10:44), but the Pioneers' 53.3 (16-30) percent shooting from the floor helped the home team take a 49-32 lead into the locker room.

Montclair State came out aggressively to start the second stanza, getting as close as eight points (54-46, 15:46), but William Paterson scored 18 of the next 26 points to build a 72-54 advantage with 8:58 to play.

Smith was 11-for-18 (.611) from the field and 4-for-4 from three-point range for her game-high 29 points, adding four assists and two steals. Lucas sank eight of 12 (.667) shots and nine of 10 (.900) free throws. Callander posted 14 points and three assists, and freshman forward Dana Jeter (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) had nine tallies and a game-best 13 rebounds. The Pioneers shot 51.7 (30-58) percent from the field and 60.0 (9-15) percent from three-point range while limiting Montclair State to a 20-for-56 (.357) shooting effort.

Kisandra Ayanbeku paced the Red Hawks with 23 points, including her 1,000th career point with a putback with 3:06 remaining in the second half. Devin Feeney and Jaime Ericson each added 12 tallies.

William Paterson will play at New Paltz Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 7:00 p.m.