WAYNE, N.J. – Despite being short-handed in the post and seeing two of its starters foul out, No. 4/4 William Paterson (1-0) found a way to overcome Manhattanville (0-1) for a 103-99 double-overtime victory in the Pioneers' women's basketball season opener Nov. 15 at the Recreation Center.

William Paterson saw its 39-22 first-half lead all but evaporate by halftime, entering the locker room ahead by just five (44-39).  The Valiants came out of the break firing, putting together a 13-3 run, fueled by seven points off the hot hand of junior Taylor Wilson, to build a 62-53 advantage with 12:26 left.

Down 72-60 after a Wilson three-pointer with 7:33 on the clock, WP couldn't make much of a dent, and was still behind by 11 (78-67, 4:51) with time for a comeback quickly dwindling away.  A three-point play by senior forward April Smith (Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional) got things started (78-70, 4:30), followed by another Smith layup (78-72, 4:03) and a jumper by senior guard BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) to make it a two-possession game (78-74, 1:57).

Following a Sarah Gibbs turnover, sophomore guard Floriana Borova (Cresskill, N.J./Cresskill) was fouled.  She nailed both free throws (78-76, 1:32).  Borova then committed her third foul at the other end, but Gibbs missed both attempts from the line.  Smith rebounded the second miscue, and Lucas cashed in with a driving layup at the right block.  She was fouled by Wilson, her fifth personal, and despite missing her first free throw of the night, the bucket knotted the score at 78-78 with 1:17 left.

Smith came up with a steal on a Gibbs turnover and was fouled.  Her 1-for-2 trip to the charity stripe handed the Pioneers their first lead in more than 13 minutes, 79-78 with 1:05 on the clock.  Courtney Turner immediately answered with a layup on the left block (80-79, 50.8 seconds), but Smith rebounded Borova's miss from three and was fouled by Gibbs.  The WP all-American made both attempts, nudging William Paterson back ahead by an 81-80 count with 31.6 seconds showing.

Turner knocked down a jumper during Manhattanville's next possession (82-81, 0:18), and when Lucas missed the rim with a drive, Kelli Hyjek rebounded the ball and simultaneously sent Smith out of the game with her fifth foul.  Hyjek went 2-for-2 at the line, handing the Valiants an 84-81 advantage with 9.3 seconds left.

William Paterson inbounded and rushed down the court, needing a three-pointer to tie it, and as Borova felt contact she attempted to get the ball airborne from behind the arc.  Hyjek's personal foul put Borova on the stripe, and she drained all three shots for an 84-84 game with 4.0 seconds on the clock.

Lucas knocked the ball away along the sideline in front of the Manhattanville bench as time expired, sending the two teams to overtime.

After each team missed to start the OT, the Pioneers turned a Turner turnover into a Lucas trey (87-84, 4:12).  After a free throw from Turner (87-85, 3:56), a three-pointer by sophomore forward Dana Jeter (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) stretched the Pioneers' advantage to five at 90-85 with 3:42 to play.

Baskets by Jen McSharar and Turner made it a one-point margin (90-89, 2:08), and Beranda Felder's two foul shots snatched the lead back for Manhattanville, 91-90, with 1:48 remaining.

Lucas answered with a floater in the lane (92-91, 1:39), and following a McSharar miscue the Pioneers had three looks from close range before a turnover and foul sent Gibbs to the line, and she made the front end of a two-shot trip to once again tie the game at 92-92 with 46 seconds on the clock.

Junior Kierra Walker (Pleasantville, N.J./Pleasantville) and sophomore Aysun Malta (Lake Hiawatha, N.J./Parsippany) had chances to put the game way, but the two combined to miss four free throws during the next 14 seconds, giving Manhattanville the ball with a chance to attempt a final shot.  Gibbs drove to the basket and was fouled with 2.0 seconds remaining, but she was off-target with both attempts from the charity stripe, and the two teams settled for an additional five-minute overtime.

Hyjek allowed Manhattanville to strike first in the second extra session (94-92, 4:22), and following junior guard Lindsey Callander's (Branchburg, N.J./Somerville) 1-for-2 trip to the stripe (94-93, 3:39), Borova rebounded a Gibbs miss and was eventually fouled.  She sank both (95-94, 3:04), but Turner came back and drained a pair of foul shots 15 seconds later, and Manhattanville once again was ahead, this time 96-95.

Walker scored a jumper but could not complete the three-point play (97-96, 2:03), but she pulled down Turner's misfire on the other end and got the ball into Lucas' hands.  Gibbs' fifth foul put the Pioneer all-American on the line, and she made good on both opportunities for a three-point WP lead (99-96, 1:25).

Hyjek converted a layup (99-98, 1:15), and Borova came right back and scored for William Paterson on a layup that once again handed the Pioneers a three-point lead at 101-98 with a minute to play.  Mel O'Connor made the front end of a two-shot foul, but Sarah Vann committed a lane violation on the second try, a costly turnover that put the ball back in the hands of the Pioneers as they clung to a 101-99 advantage with 46 seconds left.  Borova's miss was collected by Turner, and she attempted to spin and drive on the left block for the tying basket.  Borova disrupted the play and the ball ended up in the hands of freshman Ashley Marfo (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield), who was able to get it to Lucas.  The senior guard put the game away with her two free throws with three seconds remaining.

Lucas finished with a game-high 29 points and seven assists.  Smith posted 27 tallies and 18 rebounds, Borova added 22 points, four assists and four steals, and Jeter contributed a career-best 17 points to go along with 13 boards and six steals for her first career double-double.

Turner paced Manhattanville with 31 points and nine rebounds.  Wilson added 26 tallies, and Hyjek had 18 points and nine boards.

WP was forced to play a small lineup for most of the night, particularly after Smith fouled out in the second half and Jeter was sent off with 1:48 left in the first overtime.  The Pioneers were also without the services of forwards Tatiana Javis (Hillside, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) and Jewell Palmer (Woodbridge, N.J./Woodbridge), who were both unavailable to play.  The two combined to start in 29 of 58 appearances a year ago.

The Pioneers scored 16 of the game's first 19 points and eventually opened up a 39-22 advantage with 5:53 remaining in the first half thanks to the 11 early points from Jeter.  The Valiants chipped away, scoring five of their tallies at the free-throw line as part of a 17-5 run to end the half, and entered the locker room trailing by just five at 44-39.  Jeter led WP with her 11 points, going 5-for-7 (.714) from the field, while Smith posted 10 tallies and eight rebounds.  Turner led Manhattanville with 15 points, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and 5-for-6 (.833) from the charity stripe during the opening 20 minutes.

William Paterson will face Moravian in the first round of the Emmanuel College Invitational Saturday, Nov. 19, at 12:30 p.m.