MAHWAH, N.J. – A 24-8 third-quarter run by the William Paterson women's basketball team (15-10, 10-8 NJAC) made all the difference as the Pioneers closed out the 2022-23 regular season with a 66-58 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) road win at Ramapo (16-9, 10-8 NJAC) on Feb. 15.  


HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The two sides went into the second quarter even at 10-10 before the Roadrunners rattled off eight unanswered points over a four-minute stretch to go ahead by eight (18-10). However, with 5:22 remaining in the half, a 3-pointer by junior Brianna Smith (Hillsdale, N.J./Pascack Valley) sparked an 11-6 William Paterson run that brought the Pioneers within three (24-21) heading into the halftime break.
• The momentum carried into the second half for William Paterson as the Pioneers outscored Ramapo, 24-8, in the third quarter to grab a 13-point advantage (45-32). In the third frame, the Pioneers shot 10-of-17 (.588) from the floor while limiting the Roadrunners to a 20-percent (3-of-15) shooting clip.
• The William Paterson lead grew as large as 17 (52-35) with 7:03 left in the game following another Smith triple. However, Ramapo began to chip into the double-digit deficit and used a 21-7 run over 6:29 of action to trim the Pioneer lead to three, 59-56, with 34 seconds on the clock.
• That would be as close as the Roadrunners would get though as William Paterson iced the game at the foul line en route to securing the 66-58 road conference victory.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Smith poured in a game-high 23 points with four assists and a pair of rebounds.
• It was her fifth 20-point performance of the season.
• Senior Justina Cabezas (Carlstadt, N.J./Becton Regional) shot an efficient 8-of-16 (.500) from the floor to pair with 11 boards for her sixth double-double of the year.
• Sophomore Victoria Palladino (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) logged 12 in the scoring column to go along with three rebounds.
• Senior Allison McBride (Ringwood, N.J./Lakeland Regional) reeled in seven boards and finished with four points.

 
UP NEXT:

• The Pioneers will enter the NJAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed and square off against fifth-seeded The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) on Saturday, Feb. 18, in the quarterfinal round with the time still to be determined.     

 
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