BOX SCORE
MONTCLAIR, N.J. – Sophomore guard
Floriana Borova (Cresskill, N.J./Cresskill) scored 22 points as No. 5/6 William Paterson (13-0, 3-0 NJAC) narrowly escaped with a 62-61 women's basketball victory at Montclair State (8-5, 1-2 NJAC) Jan. 4.
William Paterson owned a 10-point lead (20-10) with 7:05 left to play in the first half, but an 11-0 run by the Red Hawks put them ahead by one (21-20) with 3:10 left. A three-point goal by Colleen Kelly capped the MSU run and allowed Montclair State to carry a two-point advantage into the locker room at halftime, 26-24.
Two free throws by senior all-American forward
April Smith (Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional) evened the score at 28-28 less than two minutes into the second half. Montclair State stretched the lead to as many as four, but a
Tatiana Javis (Hillside, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) jumper from the free-throw line knotted the score at 43-43 with 9:48 left in regulation.
A layup by Melissa Tobie and two made free throws by Theresa Towns put the Red Hawks back in front by four (47-43, 8:42). Borova drained back-to-back three-pointers for the Pioneers, tying the game once again at 49-49 with 7:23 left.
William Paterson put together a four-point lead with five minutes remaining, but relinquished that advantage as back-to-back scores by Taylor Jeffers knotted the game once more at 55-55 with 4:12 on the clock.
Towns and senior all-American
BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) would exchange layups to tie the score again (57-57, 3:16), but the Pioneers would surrender another layup by Tobie to go back down by two (59-57, 2:50). William Paterson would even the contest for the final time at 59-59 on two Lucas free throws with 2:25 remaining.
Towns drove to the basket and finished a layup on the next possession (61-59, 2:05), but Lucas would later hit the first of two free throws to cut the lead to one, 61-60, with 51 seconds left.
Smith rebounded the Lucas miss, but sophomore
Dana Jeter's (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) quick trey off an inbounds play was off the mark. Jaime Ericson rebounded the miss, but Lucas stole the ball from her with 40 seconds to play.
The Pioneers took a final 62-61 lead on a layup by Smith at the 29-second mark, and when MSU rebounded its first miss and got the ball back on a jump ball call of a second shot, the Red Hawks still had hope with 14 seconds left. Borova stepped into the lane and snared Ericson's pass with 9.0 seconds remaining, ending Montclair State's possession. She was fouled and had an opportunity to make it a three-point margin, but the 79 percent free-throw shooter missed both attempts from the charity stripe. WP was able to come up with a pair of offensive rebounds during the final seconds to stave off MSU and record its 13th consecutive victory.
Smith contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season. Lucas tallied 12 points and three steals on the night. William Paterson shot an uncharacteristic 31.8 (21-66) percent from the field, but committed just nine turnovers.
Towns finished with 16 points, and Tobie contributed 16 points and nine rebounds.
William Paterson will host Richard Stockton Saturday, Jan. 7, at 3:00 p.m.
