Box Score

WAYNE, NJ – Rutgers-Newark played evenly with William Paterson for a half, but the Pioneers surged to a 69-52 New Jersey Athletic Conference win in the WPU Rec Center.

Junior forward Jewell Palmer, who transferred to R-N from WPU this fall, connected on five of seven shots from the floor in the first half while scoring 11 points and pulling down six rebounds as the Raiders led 36-34 at the half.  Rutgers-Newark shot a sizzling 51.9% (14-27) from the floor during the period and freshman guard Laura Shakiri knocked down three of five shots from beyond the arc.

But the Pioneers (4-3, NJAC 2-2) ran off the first 13 points of the second half to seize a 47-36 lead as the Raiders (4-3, NJAC 2-2) failed to score during the opening six minutes of the period.  Palmer connected on a layup with 11:05 left for Rutgers-Newark's first field goal of the period after junior guard Kristine Jackiewicz pushed the Pioneer lead to 55-38 with a 3-point jumper.

Palmer finished with team-highs of 17 points and nine rebounds while Shakiri added 13 points and six rebounds.  Sophomore center Jade Howard contributed 10 points, five rebounds and two steals for the Raiders.  Freshman guards Maria Simmons and Dominique Roberts each notched five points, three assists and a steal.

Freshman guard Brittany Harden netted a game-high 20 points for WPU while adding five rebounds, four steals and three assists.  Junior guard Floriana Borova added 15 points, seven rebounds, a game-high six assists and four steals for the Pioneers while junior forward Dana Jeter posted a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds, 10 points, five assists and three steals.

After the solid opening period, the Raiders committed 17 of their 30 turnovers and hit just six of 20 field goal tries in the final 20 minutes.

It was the Raiders' second straight league loss while WPU snapped a two-game losing streak in the NJAC.

Rutgers-Newark hosts Richard Stockton in an NJAC doubleheader on Saturday in The Golden Dome.  The women's game tips off at 6 p.m. with the men to follow at 8.