NEWARK, N.J – A 28-4 burst to open the second half allowed the William Paterson women's basketball team (9-5, 5-2 NJAC) to erase Rutgers-Newark's (8-6, 4-3 NJAC) double-digit lead, eventually leading to a 69-59 WP conference victory Jan. 10.
The Pioneers trailed by as many as 12 during the first half, including a 37-25 halftime score, but came out firing to start the second period. Eleven straight points, six of them coming from senior forward Ashley Marfo (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield), made it a one-point game (37-36, 16:04), and two minutes later junior forward Alex Milne (Howell, N.J./Howell) gave WP its first lead of the game with a jumper (40-39, 14:04).
William Paterson never relinquished that lead for the remainder of the contest, taking control by scoring 13 of the next 15 points for a 53-41 edge at the 10:29 mark behind five points from senior guard Brittany Harden (Millville, N.J./Sacred Heart) and a pair of three-pointers by freshman guard Jackie Rodriguez (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial). When the Scarlet Raiders later made it a five-point gap (58-53, 5:58), Harden connected on six straight free throws and Marfo chipped in a three-point play for a 67-53 score with 3:40 left.
Harden scored 21 points for the second straight game, adding seven rebounds while making all 11 of her free-throw attempts. Rodriguez posted 15 points off the bench and Milne had nine tallies and a game-best 11 rebounds.
After shooting just 26.5 (9-34) percent during the first half, the Pioneers were 15-for-27 (.556) during the game's final 20 minutes.
Senior forward Jade Howard and sophomore guard Maria Simmons each scored 11 of their 17 points for Rutgers-Newark during the first half. Howard finished with a team-best nine rebounds, and Simmons contributed eight steals.
William Paterson will play at Rowan Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 8:00 p.m.
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