WAYNE, N.J. – In a battle between two of the three teams tied for third place in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) women's basketball standings, William Paterson (11-9, 8-5 NJAC) came up short down the stretch against visiting Stockton (13-7, 9-4 NJAC), 67-63, Jan. 27.

With five regular-season games remaining, the Pioneers are now tied with both Rowan  and Rutgers-Camden for fourth place in the league standings. The top six teams will qualify for the NJAC Tournament that begins with first-round games Saturday, Feb. 17.

The Pioneers raced out to a quick 9-0 lead before the Ospreys recovered to score eight of the last 11 points of the opening period, cutting it to a 16-15 WP edge. Stockton's Sasha Williams then produced the first five tallies of the second quarter, helping to propel the visitors to their largest lead of the first half at 28-20 with 4:34 on the clock. A late flurry that included five points from junior guard Ashley Castillo, a Tori Woetzel layup and a buzzer-beating short jumper by freshman forward Ema Jacketti handed William Paterson a narrow 32-31 halftime advantage. Pioneer junior guard Julie Rovito led all first-half scorers with 13 points on 5-for-7 (.714) shooting.

William Paterson twice stretched its lead to as many as seven during the third quarter, but a Lea Mendolla three-pointer capped a 7-2 Stockton burst and pulled the Ospreys back within two by the end of the third, 46-44.

Mendolla and senior forward Najha Treadwell combined for nine points over a three-minute span, building Stockton's largest lead of the game at 63-52 with 3:06 to play. WP chipped away, scoring 11 of the next 12 to make it a one-point margin after a Rovito layup with less than 30 seconds left (64-63), but the Ospreys were able to put the game away by making three of their four free-throw attempts down the stretch.

Rovito collected team bests of 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while Woetzel also notched a double-double with 16 tallies and 11 boards.

Treadwell finished with 17 points and 18 rebounds for Stockton, Mendolla put down 17 tallies, and Williams posted 15 points, 14 boards and seven blocked shots.

William Paterson will travel down Rt. 46 to take on No. 22/17 Montclair State Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 6:00 p.m.

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