Montclair, NJ – Senior forward Brianna Brooks finished with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds s William Paterson rebounded from a sluggish first half for a 62-56 victory over Montclair State at the Panzer Athletic Center on Wednesday evening.
Junior guard Brianna Smith added 19 points and five assists as the Pioneers erased a 12-point halftime deficit to win its fourth straight contest. William Paterson is now 4-3 overall, 4-0 in the NJAC.
Junior guard NICKIE CARTER led all scorers with 31 points, including seven three-point field goals, as MSU fell to 2-5 on the year, 1-3 in conference play.
Montclair State led 15-14 after one period, then clamped down on WPU as the Pioneers managed just two free throws in the quarter. MEGAN DUFFY scored on a layup early, and a three-pointer by Carter with 6:21 left made the score 20-14. Justina Cabezas made both attempts at the foul line for William Paterson for a 20-16 contest. However, that would be the last points the Pioneers would score in the period.
Carter hit again from behind the arc and added a driving layup with 2:38 remaining, extending the lead nine points. Duffy's three-pointer with nine ticks to go before halftime sent MSU into the intermission with a 28-16 lead.
William Paterson, which hit on just 5-of-24 attempts from the field in the first half, turned that around over the final 20 minutes. WPU made 15-of-27 while making 14-of-20 at the foul line.
After three quarters, the Pioneers closed the gap to 40-34 and scored eight of the first 10 points in the fourth, tying game at 42-42 on a Smith layup with 6:51 remaining. MSU would go back up by four, but WPU tied things up at 46-46 on two free throws by Smith. Carter and Smith would trade three-pointers for a 49-49 deadlock before Cabezas' layup with 2:51 left gave William Paterson the lead 51-49.
At the other end, Duffy's three swung the score back in favor of MSU, but Smith countered with a driving layup for 53-52 William Paterson advantage. Brooks came up with a jumper pushing the lead to three points with 86 seconds to play which became a 57-52 advantage as Yakira Rosa sank two at the line with 34 seconds.
Brooks was fouled five seconds later and hit twice at the line widening the lead to seven points. Carter got two back on a layup with 21 ticks for a 59-54 Pioneers lead. William Paterson closed out the game with three free throws, capping an 11-of-14 performance at the line in the fourth quarter.
Cabezas finished with 14 points for WPU, with Rosa adding eight and nine rebounds.
Duffy totaled 10 points and five rebounds for MSU.
Montclair State is on the road for its next contest as the Red Hawks travel to Galloway, NJ, for a 3:00 pm matchup with Stockton University on Saturday, December 11.
