WASHINGTON, PA. – Third-seeded William Paterson (17-12) secured a spot in the ECAC Women's Basketball Tournament championship game with a 69-63 semifinal victory against top-seeded Springfield (20-9) March 3. Senior forward Tori Woetzel paced the Pioneers with 19 points, four assists and four blocked shots while pulling down five rebounds.

The Pioneers, the winners of Pod 1, will face Pod 3 No. 1 seed NYU in the title game Sunday, March 4, at 1:00 p.m. at Washington & Jefferson College.

The Pride raced out to a 9-0 lead, but the Pioneers reeled Springfield back in with a 9-2 run to end the first quarter trailing by just one, 15-14.

WP continued the hot play, starting the second period with a 12-6 burst to open up a 27-20 advantage at the 3:01 mark. The Pride scored the final four points of the half, allowing the Pioneers to carry a narrow 30-29 edge into the locker room.

William Paterson got points from six different players for a 17-13 third-quarter scoring edge and a 47-42 lead heading into the fourth quarter. A pair of Alisa Giordano three-pointers helped the Pioneers seize control of the outcome, jumping out to a 10-point advantage at 59-49 with 6:38 remaining.

Giordano scored a career-best 14 points on 3-for-6 (.500) shooting from beyond the arc, while junior guard Julie Rovito added 13 tallies and three assists. Junior forward Carolyn Hill collected a team-high six rebounds.

Junior forward Gracie Restituyo (16 points, 10 rebounds) and senior forward Heather King (11 points, 10 rebounds) both had double-doubles for Springfield.

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