Upper Montclair, NJ (1/21/04) - Junior guard KRISTEN POTENZONE (Totowa, NJ/DePaul Catholic) scored 16 points as Montclair State used a decisive 12-4 run late in the second half to defeat William Paterson University, 63-55, in New Jersey Athletic Conference Women's Basketball action at Panzer Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.

SHIKEENA LYNARD (Carney's Point, NJ/Penns Grove) had 11 points for the Red Hawks (12-3, 3-2 NJAC), who have won two straight following a two-game skid. Adrienne Kopko (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional ) scored 12 points and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds for William Paterson (9-7, 4-2 NJAC), who had its two-game winning streak snapped.

In a back-and-forth affair, Montclair led by as many as seven, 41-34 in the second half before the Lady Pioneers went on an 11-4 run to tie the game at 45-45 with 10:27 to play as Kat McPhail (Sparta, NJ/Hopatcong) scored on a short jumper. AMANDA MULLANEY (Brooklyn, NJ/Bishop Ford) would give MSU a 49-45 advantage with a layup but Allison Mopsick (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan) quickly cut the deficit to one on the ensuing possession with a three-pointer.

However, the Red Hawks then began their run with 7:08 to play. Lynard made a layup and Mullaney sank two free throws to give MSU ad 53-48 lead with 6:01 left. Freshman STEPHANIE MACHIN (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) added two more foul shots before WPU's Melissa Moore (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen ) snapped the short Red Hawk run with a layup. Kopko made it a three-point game again (55-52) with a layup, but Potenzone converted on a fast break to restore the MSU lead to 57-52 with 2:29 left. Machin then connected on four consecutive free throws to boost the MSU lead to 59-52 before Mullaney capped the spurt with a layup with 1:16 to go. Mopsick would hit another three with 1:08 left to make the score 61-55, but PAM BARONE (Staten Island, NY/St. John Villa) and Potenzone each hit one foul shot to seal the game.

Mullaney finished with eight points and 10 rebounds while Machin collected six points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals. VANESSA DEFREITAS (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) had nine points as Montclair State held a huge advantage at the free throw line going 18-of-28 (64 percent), while the Lady Pioneers failed to convert on nine opportunities at the charity stripe.

McPhail had 11 points for William Paterson, which also got double-digit performances from Mopsick and Lucila Curtis (Roselle, NJ/Abraham Clark).