Custis scored 20 of her points after intermission as the Pioneers (16-10) won their sixth straight game and secured a semifinal matchup at No. 1-seeded Richard Stockton on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. in Pomona. Sophomore guard Michelle Pellichero (Milltown, NJ/Bishop Ahr) netted 18 points for William Paterson, including three free throws with 5:34 remaining that gave her team the lead for good, 62-59.
Kean (15-11) got 14 points and 14 rebounds from junior forward Chi Clark (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) and 15 points and five rebounds from sophomore forward Kimberly Smith (Burlington, NJ/Burlington). Freshman guard Melissa Beyruti (Union City, NJ/Union Hill) contributed 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Kean trailed 32-29 at halftime and was down 37-31 before embarking on a 25-12 spurt to take a 56-49 lead with 9:37 remaining after a putback by freshman guard Ebony Jackson (Newark, NJ/Malcolm X. Shabazz). Custis took over from there, hitting a jumper and a 3-pointer before scoring 13 of the Pioneers' next 18 points to put them up 66-59 with 3:41 left.
Sophomore guard Janell Fabor (Clifton, NJ/Paterson Catholic) finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists for William Paterson, while senior center Barrie Quick (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough), who was named NJAC Player of the Week on Monday, had 10 points and five boards.
Jackson had 11 points, six assists and five rebounds for Kean, which shot just 28.8 percent (21-of-73) and turned the ball over 29 times. William Paterson hit 33.9 percent of its shots (21-of-62) and made 23 turnovers, but went 28-of-44 (63.6 percent) at the charity stripe compared to 17-of-25 (68.0 percent) for the Cougars.