WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson women's basketball team (21-8, 14-4 NJAC) coasted to an 88-36 win over Hunter (21-7, 13-1 CUNYAC) in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament Semifinals March 9 at the Sports and Recreation Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• William Paterson owned a nine-point advantage (18-9) heading into the second quarter before outscoring Hunter, 42-11, to extend the lead to 40 (60-20) with 2:56 remaining in the third frame.
• The WP lead grew to as large as 57 (88-31) with 1:56 left to play before the Pioneers secured the 88-36 tournament victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Pioneers advanced to the ECAC Tournament title game for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign.
• Senior Brianna Smith (Hillsdale, N.J./Pascack Valley) shot 6-for-8 (.750) from the field and 5-for-6 (.833) from deep for a 20-point performance.
• The Hillsdale, N.J., native added three rebounds, four assists and four steals to her stat line.
• She broke the WP program record for career games played with 114.
• Junior Patty Walsh (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) went 8-of-11 (.727) from the floor, finishing with 20 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
• Freshman Leilani Pinder (Kendall Park, N.J./South Brunswick) logged 10 points on 5-of-7 (.714) shooting to pair with six boards.
• Freshman Geormaya Davis (Clinton, Md./Gwynn Park) scored a career-high eight points.

UP NEXT:

• William Paterson will square off against Allegheny in the ECAC Tournament championship game Saturday, March 15, with the location and time to be determined.

 
FOLLOW THE PIONEERS:

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