WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson women's basketball team (0-1) was edged by the Vassar Brewers (1-0), 60-56, in a back-and-forth affair in the season opener, Wednesday, Nov. 15, inside the WP Recreation Center.

The Pioneers forged a comeback in the fourth quarter behind a series of runs, tying the game at 54-54 tie with 1:19 remaining in the game. Vassar would push ahead and seal the victory behind back-to-back layups and a pair of free throws to win the game by four.

Junior Ashley Castillo (Ridgefield Park, N.J./Ridgefield Park) kicked off the scoring just 14 seconds into the contest, draining a three-pointer off an assist by junior Julie Rovito (Ridgefield Park, N.J./Ridgefield Park). After jumping out to a 6-0 lead behind a three-point play by Rovito, the Brewers responded with four points of their own. Back-and-forth scoring ensued until the 2:14 mark of the stanza when two free throws from Julie Roelke started an 8-0 run to propel Vassar to a 16-11 lead early in the second quarter. A jumper from senior Tori Woetzel (Wyckoff, N.J./Ramapo) and three points from junior CeCe Green (Boonton, N.J./Boonton) cut the deficit down to two points at 24-22 late in the half, but a bucket at the halftime buzzer gave Vassar a 28-24 advantage at the midway point.

Over two minutes drained from the clock in the third stanza before either team could get a basket to fall, but a jumper by Rovito and a layup by Woetzel leveled the scoring, 28-28, for the game's first tie since the opening tip. The Brewers responded immediately, however, with a 9-1 run over a three-minute span, shooting 4-for-5 from the field and forcing two Pioneer turnovers to pull ahead once again, 37-29.

The runs continued in the third quarter, when William Paterson answered the Brewers' spurt with seven unanswered points behind buckets by Castillo and Woetzel, and two free throws by junior Sihana Asani(Lincoln Park, N.J./Boonton) to get within one. Asani put home a jumper late in the quarter, cutting Vassar's lead down to three points at 41-38 with 10 minutes to play.

After buckets by Vassar's Nicole Teta and Sophie Nick, the Pioneers rattled off eight unanswered points, capped off by a Woetzel layup to tie the score, 46-46 with 5:53 to play. Consecutive buckets from Ariella Rosenthal gave the Brewers a four-point edge once again, but Asani responded with four points of her own and a beautiful assist to Woetzel down low to give WP its first lead since the first quarter, 52-50.

Maeve Sussman hit back-to-back buckets for her first four points of the contest, handing Vassar a two-point lead with 1:50 remaining. After a steal and score by Rovito leveled the scoring moments later, the Brewers took the lead for good with buckets by Samarah Cook and Teta, downing the Pioneers in the season opener by the 60-56 final.

WP finished with three players in double figures, led by Rovito who led all scorers with 16 points to go along with three assists. Woetzel went 6-of-10 from the floor to add 14 points, while Castillo was 2-for-4 from behind the arc as part of a 10-point performance. Junior forward Carolyn Hill (Martinsburg, W.V./Spring Mills) led WP with seven boards in her Pioneer debut. WP generated 25 points off of turnovers and received 16 points off the bench in the loss.

Leading the Brewers offensively was Nick, posting a double-double behind 13 points and 10 rebounds. Teta reeled in five boards and scored 12 points on a 4-for-7 night from the floor.

The Pioneers return to action this weekend when they travel north to Boston, Mass. to face Gallaudet (0-0) in the first of two games at the Emmanuel College Tip-Off Classic. The opening tip is set for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18.

For all of the latest information on the Pioneers, visit http://www.wpupioneers.com and http://www.wpupioneers.com/socialmedia.