WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson women's basketball team (14-11, 9-9 NJAC) punched its ticket for the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament with a 77-63 Senior Night victory against Kean (16-9, 13-5 NJAC) Feb. 15.

The fifth-seeded Pioneers will play at fourth-seeded Rowan (17-8, 11-7 NJAC) Saturday, Feb. 18, at 1:00 p.m. in the first round. The winner will advance to the semifinals Wednesday, Feb. 22, at top-seeded Montclair State (23-2, 16-2 NJAC) at 7:00 p.m.

The Pioneers scored the first five points of the night, but a 14-4 Cougar burst pushed Kean ahead by a 14-9 count with 4:51 remaining in the opening period. When WP answered with a six unanswered points to stake itself to a 23-20 edge with 8:41 on the clock in the second quarter, KU responded with nine straight tallies of its own for a 29-23 lead at the 4:48 mark. Kean carried a slight 35-34 advantage into the break despite NJAC-leading scorer Marajiah Bacon going 1-for-10 (.100) from the floor and collecting six total points.

WP led for most of the third quarter, but a late Marajiah Bacon three-point play allowed Kean to forge a 56-56 tie headed into the final period.

The Pioneers held the Cougars without a field goal for nearly five minutes, using the drought to surge ahead by a 63-56 count. Kean briefly made it a two-possession game (63-58, 5:16), but 4-for-6 (.667) shooting from the floor and a 6-for-6 effort at the free-throw line down the stretch allowed WP to put the game away.

Sophomore guard Ashley Castillo (Ridgefield Park, N.J./Ridgefield Park) poured in a career-best 19 points, and junior forward Tori Woetzel (Wyckoff, N.J./Ramapo) had a double-double with 12 tallies and 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Julie Rovito (Ridgefield Park, N.J./Ridgefield Park) scored 12 points, senior guard Ashley Palmieri (Edison, N.J./Metuchen) had 11 and freshman guard Gabby Harris (South River, N.J./South River) added 10.

Junior forward Kenya Adams led Kean with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Miesha Bacon chipped in 14 tallies, while the Pioneer defense held Marajiah Bacon, who entered the night as the league's leading scorer (23.0 ppg), to 2-for-17 (.118) shooting and 11 total points.

Prior to the game, WP honored seniors Janea Clark (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield), Palmieri and Nikole Williams (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream Central).

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