WAYNE, N.J. – William Paterson (8-6, 4-3 NJAC) held off a late Rutgers-Newark (5-9, 1-6 NJAC) rally to secure a 68-62 women's basketball victory Jan. 9.

The Pioneers led by as many as 18 (48-30, 2:26) during the third quarter and carried a 51-36 advantage into the final period. When freshman guard Ashley Castillo's (Ridgefield Park, N.J./Ridgefield Park) three-pointer made it a 56-46 WP edge at the 8:16 mark, Scarlet Raider junior Maria Simmons sparked a 9-0 run with three straight steals and breakaway layups, pulling Rutgers-Newark to within one at 56-55 with 6:33 remaining.

WP fought back with consecutive buckets by sophomore forward Ariana Gomez (Garfield, N.J./Garfield) and senior guard Brittany Harden (Millville, N.J./Sacred Heart) to stretch the lead back to five (60-55, 4:55), and the Pioneers went 4-for-6 (.667) from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the victory.

Harden finished with 15 tallies, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. Gomez posted 11 points and nine boards, sophomore guard Jackie Rodriguez (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) had 11 points, and senior forward Alex Milne (Howell, N.J./Howell) just missed out on her fifth straight double-double, finishing with nine tallies and a game-best 12 rebounds.

The Pioneers jumped out to an 11-3 edge midway through the first quarter, and when the Scarlet Raiders cut the margin to five (19-14) 90 seconds into the second period, WP responded with a 9-1 burst to push ahead by a 28-15 count with 4:08 on the clock. William Paterson carried a 33-27 advantage into the locker room, thanks in part to nine first-half points from Rodriguez.

Simmons had 20 points for the Scarlet Raiders. Senior guard Arianna Williams collected 15 tallies and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Nicole Skelly pulled down 10 boards.

William Paterson will host Rowan Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 6:00 p.m.

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