WAYNE, N.J. – The William Paterson women's basketball team (2-7, 1-4 NJAC) fell, 75-71, in overtime to first-place Stockton (7-3, 5-0 NJAC) Dec. 9 at the Sports and Recreation Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A 3-pointer by sophomore Renee Wells with 7:50 remaining in the third quarter gave the Pioneers a four-point lead (37-33). William Paterson continued to build on its advantage and took its largest lead of the afternoon (51-43) once freshman Menna Hafiz scored from inside the paint at the 8:22 mark of the fourth quarter.
• Stockton began to get into a groove on the offensive end and responded with a 12-2 run to grab a two-point edge (55-53) with 4:29 left to play in regulation.
• The two sides went back and forth and the Ospreys led 62-61 with 53 seconds remaining after a made jumper. Wells was fouled two WP possessions later and knocked down both free throws, but Stockton answered right back with a timely 3-pointer to grab a two-point advantage (65-63) with eight seconds on the clock.
• Just before time expired in regulation, sophomore Patricia Walsh buried a baseline jumper to even the score and send the game into overtime.
• In the overtime period, both teams did most of their scoring at the free-throw line and the Ospreys went on to secure the 75-71 conference road win.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Wells finished with a career-high 21 points and game-high nine rebounds with three assists.
• She went a flawless 11-for-11 (1.000) from the foul line.
• Senior Brianna Smith recorded 20 points with five boards and four assists.
• It marked her second 20-point performance of the season.
• Hafiz scored a career-high 12 points on 6-of-11 (.545) shooting with three rebounds.
• Walsh logged 10 points and eight boards.

 
UP NEXT:

• William Paterson returns to action Wednesday, Dec. 13, to host Rutgers-Newark for a New Jersey Athletic Conference game slated for 6:00 p.m.