WAYNE, NJ – William Paterson used a strong first half to hand Rutgers-Newark its first New Jersey Athletic Conference loss, 77-58, in the WPU Rec Center.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Junior guard Brittany Smith led the Scarlet Raiders (10-2, NJAC 2-1) with 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals, but the Pioneers (11-2, NJAC 2-1) constructed a 45-23 halftime lead to take control of the evening.

Sophomore guard Kristen Venning pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, netted six points and made four steals, but Rutgers-Newark shot just 24.3% (18-74) from the floor to suffer their first road loss of the season. Junior guard Jared Tactuk notched nine points while freshman guard Jasmine Daniels registered eight points, six rebounds and two steals.

Junior forward April Smith had game highs of 22 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots, helping the Pioneers dominate the boards, 59-39, to offset 30 WPU turnovers. William Paterson shot a solid 48.4% (30-62) with Smith making nine of 13 field goals tries and junior guard Brianna Lucas netting seven of 11 field goals on her way to 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. WPU also got a dozen points and four assists from sophomore guard Lindsey Callander, and a dozen rebounds, four assists and three steals off the bench from freshman forward Dana Jeter.

Smith and Lucas each shot six for nine from the floor in the opening period as the Pioneers took advantage of 13 Raider turnovers while controlling the boards, 35-19.  Smith had 15 points and eight rebounds in the opening half while Lucas netted 14 points and handed out three assists.

Rutgers-Newark travels to Rutgers-Camden for an NJAC doubleheader on Saturday. The men's teams tip off at 1 p.m. with the women to follow at 3 o'clock.