Box Score
WAYNE, NJ – The William Paterson University women’s basketball team edged Rowan University, 51-50 in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship Tournament on Saturday.
William Paterson (19-7), the second seed from the North Division, will play the South Division’s first seed The College of New Jersey (21-4) in the semifinals on Wednesday, February 25. Rowan was the third seed in the South Division and ends the season with a 14-10 record.
In the other first round game, Kean University (20-6) won 68-33 over the North Division’s third seed Rutgers-Newark (11-15). The Cougars are the second seed from the South Division. Kean travels to the North Division’s number one seed Montclair State University (18-7) for the semifinals. The two semifinal winners meet in the championship of the conference tournament on Saturday, February 28 at the higher seed. The NJAC champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
Guard BriAnna Lucas (fr. Hamilton, NJ/Nottingham) led the Pioneers with a game-high 17 points. Forward April Smith (so. Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional) contributed with 14 points. Guard Elisa Brown (jr. Norwalk, CT/Norwalk) grabbed 10 rebounds.
For the Profs, guard Gina Catanzariti (so. Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) scored 15 points and recorded a career high 13 boards. Forward Amanda Jennings (jr. Turnersville, NJ/Washington Twp.) totaled 13 points and a career high 15 rebounds. Forward Ashley Cieplicki (sr. Haworth, NJ/Dumont) added nine points.
William Paterson had a one-point lead (27-26) to start the second half. Lucas’ layup made the score 29-26 at 18:29. Cieplicki followed with a basket (18:20) and Catanzariti hit two foul shots (17:56) to go up 30-29. Rowan had a seven point advantage (37-30) after a layup by Cieplicki at 15:47. Lucas nailed a three-pointer (15:17) and a jumper (13:09) to cut the deficit to two (37-35). Smith’s layup tied the score at 38 with 11:24 remaining. Jennings put the Profs up 44-41 at 7:44 with a jumper. Lucas followed with two free throws (7:26) and Brown had a basket (7:14) to go ahead 45-44. The Pioneers trailed 48-47 with 6:20 left. Smith’s layup made the score 49-48 in William Paterson’s favor at 5:36. She had the next basket at 1:33 for a three point lead (51-48). Catanzariti pulled the Profs within one (51-50) with two foul shots at the 57 second mark. Both teams turned the ball over to end the game.
The score was tied three times in the first half. The last one came at 10:51 after guard Jillian Kane’s (jr. Ridgefield Park, NJ/Ridgefield Park) layup made the score 13-13 for the Pioneers. Jennings had a layup at 9:08 and Rowan trailed 18-17. Kane (8:55), Lucas (8:36) and Brown (8:02) each made a basket to lead 24-17. Brown’s three-pointer gave William Paterson an eight point advantage (27-19) at 7:06. The Profs answered with seven straight points to end the period. Guard Nancy White (fr. Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City) scored four points and Jennings had three.
