JERSEY CITY, N.J. – William Paterson (13-9, 10-5 NJAC) secured a bid for the upcoming New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Women's Basketball Tournament with a 76-68 victory at New Jersey City (8-14, 5-10 NJAC) Feb. 8.
The Pioneers, currently in third place in the league standings, have qualified for the six-team NJAC Tournament set to begin Feb. 22. The top two seeds will receive first-round byes and host semifinal contests on Feb. 25.
Senior guard Floriana Borova (Cresskill, N.J./Cresskill) added 22 points and seven rebounds to her game-high nine assists, becoming the WP career assists leader (418) by surpassing the top mark of 416 set by Michelle Jones (1987-91). Senior forward Dana Jeter (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) posted 18 tallies and nine rebounds, and senior guard Kristine Jackiewicz (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) chipped in 10 points and eight boards.
The Gothic Knights missed 20 of their first 21 attempts from the floor, allowing the Pioneers to build a 26-9 advantage by the 6:41 mark. Ahead by a 37-25 count at halftime and a 59-42 score at the 11:09 mark of the second half, WP saw its lead begin to trickle away during the next seven minutes as NJCU put together a 20-7 run to pull within four at 66-62 with 4:37 to play.
A Maya Harris (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) layup and two made free throws by each team were followed by a Borova bucket (72-64, 3:25), but the Gothic Knights answered with a jumper and 1-for-2 trip to the charity stripe (72-67, 1:40). Senior forward Brittany Ennis (Lambertville, N.J./South Hunterdon Regional) pushed the margin back to seven with her second-chance layup with 1:02 on the clock.
Bria Smith hit one of two free throws for New Jersey City 14 seconds later, but Borova again made it a three-possession game with a 1-for-2 trip to the line (75-68, 0:39), and an Ennis steal seconds later essentially ended the Gothic Knights' comeback hopes.
Jennifer Kryzinski produced 29 points and 18 rebounds off the bench for NJCU. Mesha Laguerre had 10 tallies and Kianna Briggs pulled down 10 boards.
William Paterson will celebrate Senior Night Wednesday, Feb. 12, against Kean at 6:00 p.m.
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