The last time the Pioneers secured 20 victories in a season was the 1999-2000 campaign, when William Paterson posted a 20-6 overall mark. The win against the Roadrunners also kept the Pioneers in first place in the New Jersey Athletic Conference’s North Division, a game and a half ahead of both idle Rutgers-Newark (8-3) and Montclair State (8-3), a 55-47 winner at New Jersey City today. A WPU win against Rutgers-Newark Feb. 14 will give the Pioneers not only the top seed in the North Division, but also the overall top seed in the NJAC Tournament, thanks to a 69-57 victory against South Division champion Kean on Jan. 27.
Against Ramapo, William Paterson made nine of its first 11 field-goal attempts to sprint out to a 22-1 lead, as all five starters etched their names into the scoring column during the game’s first 6:04. The Pioneers entered the locker room with a 36-22 edge, and their lead never dipped below 11 in the second half (36-25, 19:45). For the contest, William Paterson scored 29 points off of 22 Ramapo turnovers and shot 36.4 (8-22) percent from three-point range while limiting the Roadrunners to a 1-for-10 (.100) effort from beyond the arc.
All but one of the Pioneers’ 13 players scored against the Roadrunners, led by junior Michelle Pellichero’s (Milltown, N.J./Bishop Ahr) 14 points. Senior Melissa Moore (East Orange, N.J./North Bergen) added 11 tallies, five rebounds and three assists, while sophomore Asia Johnson (Wildwood, N.J./Wildwood) came off the bench to contribute eight points and tie with Lori Custis (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) for the team rebounding lead (seven).
The Pioneers will finish the regular season Wednesday, Feb. 14, at home against Rutgers-Newark at 6:00 p.m. Prior to the contest, William Paterson will honor its five seniors – Luci Custis (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark), Lindsey Krenza (Bayville, N.J./Central Regional), Meghan Ludgate (Palermo, N.J./Ocean City), Moore and Alima Williams (Somerdale, N.J./Sterling Regional).