WAYNE, N.J. – Junior forward April Smith (Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional) scored her 1,000th career point as No. 17/19 William Paterson (25-3) cruised past Keuka (24-3) for an 81-47 victory in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship March 4 at the William Paterson University Recreation Center.
The Pioneers advance to the second round Saturday, March 5, at 6:00 p.m. at the Rec Center, and will play Colby (22-5), a 58-48 winner against Stevens (21-7) in the other-first round contest played in Wayne.
William Paterson wasted no time in seizing control of the contest, using three-pointers by junior BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) and freshman Floriana Borova (Cresskill, N.J./Cresskill) during its first two possessions, followed by a Smith follow of a teammate's miss for her milestone points, for an early 8-2 edge just 1:26 into the game. When senior Jessica Fink (New Oxford, Pa./New Oxford) converted a three-pointer to pull Keuka to within three at 15-12 at the 12:54 mark, the Pioneers answered by scoring 21 of the next 25 points, blowing the game open to build a commanding 36-16 advantage with 6:46 remaining before halftime. The Storm were 2-for-5 (.400) from the field with four turnovers during the run, while the Pioneers connected on six of nine (.667) attempts, including five of seven (.714) from beyond the arc.
William Paterson entered the locker room with a comfortable 49-27 lead, turning the ball over just four times while shooting 9-for-21 (.429) from long range and 17-for-38 (.447) overall during the opening stanza. Borova led the way during the first 20 minutes for the Pioneers with 13 tallies, while Smith had 11 points and nine rebounds.
It was a 41-point game by the 6:52 mark of the second half (77-36), despite William Paterson's reserved seeing the majority of playing time.
Borova, the current New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Rookie of the Week, finished with a game-best 22 points on 7-for-15 (.467) shooting overall and a 4-for-10 (.400) effort from three-point range. In addition to becoming the 20th member of William Paterson's 1,000-point club, Smith collected her 19th double-double of the season with 15 tallies and a game-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Lindsey Callander (Branchburg, N.J./Somerville) was 4-for-6 (.667) from beyond the arc for 14 points, NJAC Co-Player and Defensive Player of the Year Lucas had 10 points, six assists and three steals, and sophomore forward Tatiana Javis (Newark, N.J./ Bloomfield Tech) added six tallies and seven boards in 21 minutes off the bench.
Freshman guard Jessica Bandrowski (Center Moriches, N.Y./Center Moriches) paced Keuka with 11 points, classmate Casey Chamberlain (Perry, N.Y./Perry) had seven tallies, and senior forward Nadia Madmoune (Rome, N.Y./Rome Free Academy) chipped in four points to go along with her team-high five rebounds.
William Paterson dominated on the glass (55-32 overall, 23-7 offensive) to create a 21-2 advantage in second-chance points. The NJAC Tournament champions also turned the ball over just 10 times and limited the Storm to a 29.4 (15-51) percent shooting to earn their eighth straight victory.