MAHWAH, N.J. – A 14-3 run midway through the second half helped to propel the No. 8/9 William Paterson women's basketball team (21-1, 10-1 NJAC) to a 62-59 victory at Ramapo (14-8, 5-6 NJAC) Feb. 4. The win assured the Pioneers the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) North Division's top spot, and with it, a NJAC Tournament first-round bye and home semifinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 21.
Senior all-American senior forward April Smith (Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional) paced WP with her 29 points and 11 rebounds, knocking down 11 of 17 (.647) attempts. Sophomore forward Dana Jeter (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) added three assists to her 11 boards, and senior all-American guard BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) had nine tallies and three assists. Sophomore guard Floriana Borova (Cresskill, N.J./Cresskill) and junior guard Kierra Walker (Pleasantville, N.J./Pleasantville) each contributed seven points.
After four lead changes and four ties during the opening 20 minutes, the Pioneers owned a slim 26-23 halftime lead. Back-to-back field goals by Micaela Moore handed the Roadrunners a 33-32 edge at the 14:39 mark, but Smith scored four of the game's next five points, and a Borova three-pointer made it a 39-34 WP advantage with 11:40 to play. Ramapo went 2-for-2 at the line, but a Smith jumper, Walker three-point play and a Walker layup stretched the lead to double digits at 46-36 with 9:44 remaining.
William Paterson seemingly had the outcome in hand, owning a 61-54 edge with 39 seconds left, but a WP foul allowed Ramapo to put up two points at the charity stripe, and Lindsey Gripenburg's trey cut the margin to 61-59 with nine seconds remaining. The Roadrunners fouled Lucas, who made the second of two attempts with seven seconds on the clock, and Alexa Ryan's attempt at the game-tying basket was no good just before the final horn.
Gripenburg scored 12 points for Ramapo, Ryan had 10, and Moore finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
William Paterson will play at Rutgers-Newark Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 6:00 p.m.