WAYNE, N.J. (January 9, 2016) - Despite 20 points, eight assists, five steals, four rebounds and two blocks from junior guard Maria Simmons, the Rutgers University-Newark women's basketball team was defeated by a score of 68-62 Saturday afternoon at William Paterson University.

With the loss, the Scarlet Raiders fall to 1-6 in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) action and 5-9 overall. William Paterson improves to 8-6 overall and 4-3 in the conference.

The Scarlet Raiders will look to get back in the win column Wednesday night at 6 p.m. when they host NJAC rival Ramapo College in The Golden Dome Arena.

Simmons scored her 20 points on 15 shots and connected on eight of her 10 attempts at the line. She now has 20 more points in six-straight games and has dished out eight or more assists in five games this season. Joining Simmons in double figures was senior guard Arianna Williams who had 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocked shots. Sophomore forward Nikki Sammartino tied her career-high with 11 points, and sophomore guard Nicole Skelly had seven points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Shala Glenn posted nine points and four steals.

Senior guard Brittany Harden had a team-high 15 points for William Paterson, adding nine rebounds, four assists and four steals to her line. Sophomores Ariana Gomez and Jackie Rodriguez each scored 11 points, with Gomez getting nine boards, and senior forward Alex Milne tallied nine points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

Paterson shot 42.1 percent (24-for-57) from the field, 25 percent (4-for-16) from three and 66.7 percent (16-for-24) at the line. The Pioneers held a 42-37 margin on the glass and had 11 steals as a team, leading by as many as 18 points late in the third quarter.

Rutgers-Newark had 16 steals as a team - getting four or more from three different players - and shot 34.9 percent (22-for-63) from the field, 25 percent (4-for-16) from long range and 70 percent (14-for-20) at the line.

After taking a 33-27 lead after one half of play, William Paterson opened the second half with a 15-3 run to open a 48-30 cushion with 2:26 left in the third quarter. The hosts' defense held the Scarlet Raiders to just nine points in the third, and were able to take a 15-point edge into the fourth and final quarter.

Two three-pointers from Williams and two buckets from Glenn quickly pulled R-N within seven with plenty of time left in the game (8:31), and the Raiders fought within five (56-51) after a sequence that featured a jumper from Sammartino and a steal and three-point play from Simmons. Another Simmons steal and fastbreak layup made it a three-point game, before another steal - this one from Williams - and another fastbreak layup by Simmons brought Rutgers all the way back within one (56-55) with 6:33 on the clock.

William Paterson would score the next two baskets to go back up five and slow some of the Scarlet Raider momentum, and after clawing back within three points, the Scarlet Raiders could get no closer the rest of the way.

The Scarlet Raiders finished Saturday's game with a 28-19 margin in points off turnovers and a 13-2 edge in fastbreak points.

The Pioneers - who led wire-to-wire - took an early 6-0 lead and eventually opened a 19-10 margin after one. The host edge would balloon to 13 six minutes into the second quarter, but R-N battled back within five points after a three-point play from Simmons and went into the intermission down just six.