VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

WAYNE, N.J. – The third-seeded William Paterson women's basketball team (16-11, 10-8 NJAC) secured a 63-60 home victory over sixth-seeded John Jay (18-10, 11-3 CUNYAC) Wednesday night in the first round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament at the Sports and Recreation Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• It was a tightly contested tournament game as both sides were unable to gain much separation for much of the night. The score sat at 38-38 with 6:03 on the clock in the third quarter before the Pioneers outscored the Bloodhounds, 13-6, over a stretch of 4:44 to grab a seven-point advantage (51-44).
• The William Paterson lead grew to as large as nine (59-50) following a pair of free throws by sophomore Victoria Palladino (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) at the 5:17 mark of the fourth quarter. However, eight unanswered points by John Jay pulled the Bloodhounds within one (59-58) with 48 seconds remaining in the game.
• Palladino returned to the charity stripe with 11 seconds on the clock and knocked down a pair to extend the advantage to three (63-60). John Jay got a pair of shots off from long range in the closing seconds, but could not capitalize on the opportunities and William Paterson earned the victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Freshman Renee Wells (Leonardo, N.J./Middletown South) posted her second career double-double after scoring a team-high 19 points to pair with a career-high 16 rebounds.
• Palladino recorded 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Senior Justina Cabezas (Carlstadt, N.J./Becton Regional) logged 11 points.
• Junior Brianna Smith (Hillsdale, N.J./Pascack Valley) added nine in the scoring column.  

 
UP NEXT:

• The Pioneers will head to Ramapo College on Saturday, March 4, to take on second-seeded New Jersey City in the semifinals of the ECAC Tournament slated for 6 p.m.

 
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