WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – No. 8/11 William Paterson (26-2) cruised past Salve Regina (19-10), 79-44, in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament March 2 at King's (Pa.) College.  The Pioneers advance to play host King's (23-5), a 56-42 first-round winner against Oneonta State (19-9), in the second round Saturday, March 3, at 5:30 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

The NJAC Player of the Year, senior forward April Smith (Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional) scored a game-best 23 points to go along with nine rebounds and four blocked shots.  Honorable-mention all-league sophomore guard Floriana Borova (Cresskill, N.J./Cresskill) posted 15 tallies and four steals, while junior forward Tatiana Javis (Hillside, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) had eight points, four assists and five boards.  Sophomore forward Dana Jeter (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) chipped in eight rebounds and four assists.

The Pioneers wasted no time taking control of the contest, building a 24-6 advantage by the halfway point of the opening period.  That lead expanded to 42-18 by halftime and 30 points (48-18) less than two minutes into the second half.  WP shot 40.9 (27-66) percent from the floor overall while limiting Salve Regina to a 13-for-66 (.197) effort, and owned a 56-41 rebounding advantage while outscoring the Seahawks 34-10 in the paint.

Lindsay Shorey had 21 points and 12 rebounds to pace Salve Regina.  Marissa Pendergast added eight tallies and five boards.