Box Score 

NEWARK, N.J. – No. 7/8 William Paterson (23-1, 11-1 NJAC) jumped out to a 29-12 halftime lead and never looked back, cruising to a 58-42 victory at Rutgers-Newark (8-16, 2-10 NJAC) Feb. 15.

Sophomore BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) led a balanced attack with 15 points, one of eight Pioneers to get into the scoring column. Senior Julie Haledjian (Montvale, N.J./Pascack Hills) added 11 tallies and a game-high four assists, while classmate Erin Cook (Princeton, N.J./Princeton) tacked on nine points to her 11 rebounds. Freshman Lindsey Callander (Branchburg, N.J./Somerville), junior Absatu Mustapha (Somerset, N.J./Franklin) and freshman Allyson Scerbo (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) each collected six points for William Paterson.

The Pioneers exerted control from the opening tip, scoring 19 of the game's first 22 points as the Scarlet Raiders missed their first nine field goals and turned the ball over three times during the first seven minutes. William Paterson entered the locker room with the 17-point advantage despite shooting 31.3 (10-32) percent, but the Pioneer defense did its job by allowing Rutgers-Newark to make just four of 21 (.190) of its attempts during the opening period.

The two teams played even during the second half, but WP's lead never dipped below 11 (32-21, 15:28) during the game's final 20 minutes. William Paterson had 13 steals to Rutgers-Newark's three, and owned a 34-3 edge in points off turnovers.

Martyna Ruminska led the Scarlet Raiders with 11 points, Jared Tactuk had 10 tallies, and Courtney Vacca added eight points and 11 rebounds.

William Paterson will celebrate Senior Night and finish the regular-season slate Wednesday, Feb. 17, when the Pioneers host New Jersey City at 6:00 p.m.