GLASSBORO, N.J. – The William Paterson women's basketball team (14-11, 10-8 NJAC) held a second-quarter lead but couldn't outlast Rowan (21-4, 15-3 NJAC), 83-65, Feb. 17 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
 
The fifth-seeded Pioneers will play at fourth-seeded Kean in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament first round Saturday, Feb. 20, at 1:00 p.m.
 
WP fell behind by a 12-5 count midway through the first quarter and trailed 18-13 at the end of the period. Three three-pointers by sophomore guard Jackie Rodriguez (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) ignited a 21-6 Pioneer burst, making it a 34-24 William Paterson advantage with 4:03 to play in the second quarter, but a Kate Matthews jumper during the final three seconds allowed the Profs to deadlock the score at 34-34 at the break.
 
Rowan came out firing to start the third quarter, opening up a 59-46 advantage with 1:35 left in the period, and never saw its lead dip below double digits during the fourth.
 
Rodriguez had 16 points and senior forward Alex Milne (Howell, N.J./Howell) finished with 15. Sophomore forward Ariana Gomez (Garfield, N.J./Garfield) pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Graduate student guard/forward Kaitlin Schullstorm led five Profs in double figures with 17 points.
 
WP (.421, 24-57) was better from the field than Rowan (.390, 30-77), but the Profs turned 31 Pioneer turnovers into 41 points.
 
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