UNION, N.J. – Trailing by nine during the opening moments of the second half, No. 9/11 William Paterson (25-2) stormed back, putting together a 12-2 run midway through the period and eventually pulling away from host No. 23/24 Kean (22-5) for a 79-69 victory in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Women's Basketball Tournament championship game Feb. 24.

The win gave the Pioneers back-to-back league titles as well as an automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division III Tournament.  The NCAA bracket will be released Monday, Feb. 27, at 2:30 p.m. via live video stream on ncaa.com.

The NJAC Player of the Year, senior forward April Smith (Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional), paced WP with 16 points and 11 rebounds, adding four assists.  Senior all-American guard and NJAC Defensive Player of the Year BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) scored all 15 of her points during the second half, while honorable-mention all-league sophomore guard Floriana Borova (Cresskill, N.J./Cresskill) contributed 15 tallies, five assists and a game-high five steals.  Junior guard Lindsey Callander (Branchburg, N.J./Somerville) was 4-for-4 from three-point range for 14 points, sophomore forward Dana Jeter (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) had eight tallies, eight boards and three assists, and junior forward Tatiana Javis (Hillside, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) chipped in seven points and seven rebounds.

A pair of Callander treys helped the Pioneers stake themselves to an early 12-7 lead at the 15:32 mark, but nine lead changes and three ties marked the game's next six minutes as both teams struggled to take control of the contest.  An 8-2 Cougar burst fueled by two Naimah Clemons baskets and an Erika Jones three-pointer handed Kean a 42-32 advantage with 1:23 on the clock, but Callander's third three-ball of the contest allowed William Paterson to keep the margin in single digits as the teams entered the locker room with Kean owning a 44-37 advantage.

After missing the Pioneers' entire 56-49 semifinal victory Feb. 22 against Rutgers-Newark and playing just five minutes during the opening half against the Cougars due to an injury, Lucas started the second half and almost immediately made her presence known.  Simone Smith's layup pushed Kean's lead to nine at 46-37 just 36 seconds into the period, but Lucas drained a three-pointer and then converted a layup, a quick five points that made the score 46-42 with 18:19 on the clock.

The two teams traded baskets over the next five minutes, with WP twice getting to within one point, but the Cougars' Clemons and Brittanie Payne found the bottom of the net to make it a five-point game at 56-51 with 11:16 to play.

Jeter's second-chance three-point play made it a one-possession game (56-54, 10:54), and after a miss on each end, Clemons drilled a trey before Javis answered with a jumper in the lane (59-56, 9:45).  A Kean turnover led to another Lucas three-pointer, this one to knot the score at 59-59 at the 9:15 mark.

Payne and Smith traded layups on consecutive possessions less than two minutes later (61-61, 7:22).  The Cougars could not make good on an offensive rebound during their next possession, but the Pioneers did on the other end of the court when Lucas sank a trey to give WP the lead for good (64-61, 6:34).

Kean was whistled for an offensive foul on a miss from beyond the arc, then turned it over during its next series.  Lucas was sent to the line and made a pair of free throws (66-61, 5:16), but Danielle McFadden hit a layup just 12 seconds later, and a WP turnover allowed Simone Smith to follow her own miss and pull the Cougars to within one at 66-65 with 4:28 remaining.

Junior guard Kierra Walker (Pleasantville, N.J./Pleasantville) streaked to the rim for a layup (68-65, 4:04), and when Jeter rebounded a Shay Collins miss, Borova turned it into two points on the other end and a 70-65 Pioneer lead with 3:33 remaining.

Two Kean misses sandwiched a William Paterson turnover, and another WP miscue led to a McFadden fast-break bucket (70-67, 2:15).  Jeter's layup less than 30 seconds later again gave WP a five-point cushion, and when McFadden committed a turnover after an offensive rebound, the Pioneers had a chance to put the game away.  Borova sank two free throws with 1:08 on the clock, then picked off a Clemons pass.  Kean fouled and sent Jeter to the charity stripe, and she made the first of two for a 75-67 score with 53 seconds left.

Jones missed from beyond the arc and the Cougars were forced to foul to get the ball back.  Borova went 2-for-2 (77-67, 0:35), then stole Payne's pass and scored a transition bucket six seconds later to put the finishing touches on the Pioneers' come-from-behind victory.

William Paterson shot 46.7 (14-30) percent while limiting Kean to a 12-for-34 (.353) effort during the second half, and owned a 15-9 second-half turnover advantage after yielding a 14-7 negative margin during the opening 20 minutes.  Overall, the Pioneers knocked down eight of 13 (.615) attempts from beyond the arc and 13 of 17 (.765) free throws, while the Cougars were 5-for-19 (.263) from three-point range and missed their only attempt from the charity stripe.

The NJAC Tournament title was the third in the Pioneers' history (1993, 2011, 2012), and the victory against the Cougars avenged one of WP's two losses this season (88-84 in overtime at Kean, Jan. 14).

Clemons led all scorers with 18 points.  Payne had 14 tallies and seven assists, and Jones posted 13 points and nine rebounds.  Smith collected 12 points and seven boards, and McFadden contributed 10 points and six rebounds.