BRONX, N.Y. – The William Paterson women's basketball team (8-4, 3-2 NJAC) won the Lehman College Tournament on Dec. 29 after besting host Lehman (4-7, 0-1 CUNYAC) 71-53, in the championship game.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• William Paterson held a five-point edge (23-18) in the early stages of the second quarter before senior Justina Cabezas (Carlstadt, N.J./Becton Regional) found her groove on the offensive end and sparked a 19-5 run to put the Pioneers ahead by 17 (40-23). During the run that lasted over nine minutes, Cabezas poured in 10 of the team's 19 points.
• The Pioneers continued to build on their double-digit advantage and saw it grow to as large as 20 (49-29) with 3:46 on the clock in the third quarter following a layup by junior Brianna Smith (Hillsdale, N.J./Pascack Valley). From that point, William Paterson's lead held and the Pioneers secured the win.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Cabezas scored a team-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting (.583) with seven rebounds and four assists.
• Freshman Renee Wells (Leonardo, N.J./Middletown South) logged 14 points with four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
• The rookie was named to the Lehman College All-Tournament Team.
• Smith tallied 11 points.
• Sophomore Victoria Palladino (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) notched five points and recorded a career-high nine rebounds.

 
UP NEXT:

• The Pioneers will resume conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 4, when they head to Newark, N.J., to take on Rutgers-Newark with tipoff slated for 6:00 p.m.

 
FOLLOW THE PIONEERS:

• http://www.wpupioneers.com/socialmedia