NEWARK, N.J. – Junior guard
Brianna Brooks (Saddle Brook, N.J./Saddle Brook) drained a turnaround jumper with 4.3 seconds remaining as William Paterson women's basketball (1-2, 1-2 NJAC) held off Rutgers-Newark (2-1, 2-1 NJAC) for its first win of the season, 67-66.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Deadlocked at 22-22 after the first quarter, William Paterson limited Rutgers-Newark to just 2-for-15 (.133) shooting in the second frame as used a late 10-0 run to take a 39-31 lead into the break.
- Following intermission, Yakira Rosa's (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) jumper would give WP its largest lead of the game (42-31, 8:52), but the Scarlet Raiders would respond with a 16-4 burst that span 4:29 to take a one-point advantage, 47-46. The lead would change four more times in the frame, before five consecutive points by freshman Kayla Allmendinger (Little Falls, N.J./Passaic Valley) provided some breathing room and WP led 58-53 after 30 minutes.
- RUN began to chip away at the deficit, and forged ahead, 66-65 on a Syncere Lambert bucket with 31 seconds left. Down to their final possession, Brianna Smith (Hillsdale, N.J./Pascack Valley) found a cutting Brooks who dribbled once and nailed the game-winning turnaround jumper with 4.3 on the clock.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Brooks posted a personal-best 20 points on 8-of-12 (.750) shooting while pulling down 10 boards for her second double-double of the season.
- Justina Cabezas (Carlstadt, N.J./Becton Regional) finished with career highs in both points (16) and rebounds (13), and Rosa notched 10 points to go along with four assists.
- William Paterson has now taken six of the last seven meeting against Rutgers-Newark.
UP NEXT:
- The Pioneers and Scarlet Raiders conclude the home-and-home weekend series at the Sport and Recreation Center Saturday, Feb. 13 at 2:00 p.m.
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