BOSTON, MASS. – Junior guard Brittany Harden (Millville, N.J./Sacred Heart) scored a game-high 18 points to lead the William Paterson women's basketball team (1-0) to a 69-59 victory against New Paltz (0-1) in the first round of the Emmanuel College Invitational Nov. 15.
 
The Pioneers overcame 30 fouls and 35 turnovers to hold off the Hawks, who shot just 51.2 (22-43) percent from the free-throw line and 22.4 (15-67) percent from the floor.

William Paterson took its largest lead of the day at 49-30 with 11:49 left in the second half, following an 8-0 run, but foul trouble started to catch up to the Pioneers. New Paltz took advantage and went on a 10-1 spurt, including eight points from junior guard/forward Colleen Ames, to pull the Hawks to within 50-40 with 9:29 to go. 

The Pioneers bumped their lead back to 54-41 with 9:03 showing, but New Paltz kept the pressure on with six straight points to cut the deficit to 54-47 with 7:11 remaining in the contest. WP scored the next two baskets, but an 8-2 burst, including a trey from freshman guard Jasmine Bryant and a layup from sophomore forward Kit Small, cut the margin to 60-55 for the Hawks with 4:30 left. That was as close as they would get as the Pioneers held them off in the final minutes, scoring the last four points for a 10-point victory.

The first half, appropriately enough, looked like two teams that were playing their first game of the season as evidenced by a 16.1  (5-31) percent shooting effort from the floor and a 52.0 (13-25) percent clip from the line for New Paltz, and 16 fouls and 13 turnovers from William Paterson.

The Pioneers led for most of the first half, holding the Hawks scoreless through the opening 4:33 of play and later owned a 10-5 advantage at the 13:07 mark, before New Paltz scored five straight points, capped by a three-point play from junior guard Goldie Harrison to tie the contest at 10-10 with 11:56 to play in the opening period. 

The Pioneers scored the next four points, but the Hawks answered with seven unanswered to take their first lead of the game at 17-14 with 8:25 on the clock. William Paterson countered with a 7-0 run of its own, including the last five from freshman guard Julie Rovito (Ridgefield Park, N.J./Ridgefield Park), to reclaim the lead for the remainder of the half, taking a 21-17 edge with 6:28 left. 

New Paltz later closed to within 24-22 at the 2:42 mark following a free throw from sophomore forward Courtney Irby, but the Pioneers put together a 6-1 run, capped by a pair of from the line by Harden, to increase their lead to 30-23 with 23 ticks left on the first-half clock, and the teams went into the break with WP holding a 30-25 lead.

Harden added seven rebounds and a game-high five steals and four assists for William Paterson. Freshman guard Ashley Palmieri (Edison, N.J./Metuchen) chipped in with 10 points, five boards, two steals, a pair of assists and a block, while senior forward Ashley Marfo (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield) just missed a double-double with eight points and 13 rebounds to go with two steals and an assist.

Harrison led the Hawks with 13 points and added two rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals, while Ames netted 12 points, grabbed two rebounds, made two steals and dished for an assist. Small finished with nine points, four rebounds, two steals and a pair of assists. 

William Paterson will face Emmanuel in the tournament final Sunday, Nov. 16, at 2:00 p.m.

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