Box Score WAYNE, N.J. – Rutgers University-Newark had four players in double figures, but William Paterson got 39 points from its bench for a 67-59 New Jersey Athletic Conference win in the WPU Rec Center.
Sophomore center
Jasmine Lombard hit seven of 13 shots from the floor to finish with team highs of 15 points and nine rebounds for the Scarlet Raiders while senior center
Sharee Gordon came off the bench to knock down six of 10 field goal tries on her way to 14 points, three rebounds and two steals.
High-scoring senior forward
Jade Howard, who entered the game with an NJAC-leading 20.4 scoring average, was held to just 10 points because of foul trouble which limited her to 24 minutes on the floor. She hauled down eight rebounds.
Sophomore guard
Nicole Skelly hit three of eight shots from beyond the arc to post a career-high 10 points.
Sophomore guard
Maria Simmons finished with game highs of eight assists and six steals to go along with five points and seven rebounds.
Freshman guard Julie Rovito came off the bench to pour in 14 of her game-high 20 points in the second half for WPU. Rovito also added five assists, four rebounds and three steals. The Pioneers got 10 points apiece from junior guard Brittany Harden and senior forward Ashley Marfo. Harden added eight rebounds, a team-high four steals and two assists while Marfo collected six rebounds to help WPU build a 45-39 advantage off the glass.
The Pioneers (12-9, NJAC 8-6) got 18 points from their bench in the first half to construct a 32-26 lead. After WPU worked out to a 20-14 lead, Skelly drained a 3-point jumper to ignite a 7-0 run which gave Rutgers-Newark its only lead of the afternoon. A steal and layup by sophomore guard
Shala Glenn and follow up bucket by Lombard with 7:42 on the clock put the Raiders ahead, 21-10. WPU answered with an 8-0 rally and never relinquished the lead.
The Raiders (11-11, NJAC 7-8) find themselves in a 3-way tie for fifth place in the NJAC with The College of New Jersey (12-10, NJAC 7-8) and Kean (12-10, NJAC 7-8) with three regular-season games left on the docket. The top six teams make the NJAC Championship Tournament field.
Rutgers-Newark hosts Rutgers University-Camden Wednesday night in an NJAC doubleheader in The Golden Dome Arena. The women's game tips off at 6 with the men to follow at 8.
