Senior forward Renee Wells tallied a team-high 19 points this Wednesday in the home opener for the women’s basketball team against West Connecticut State, 56-51.
This win extended the team’s win streak to 3-0, marking the best start of a season since the 2011-12 team, which opened with a 15-0 record.
The game began with starters from William Paterson: junior guards Jada Jacobs and Mattison Chiera, senior forwards Renee Wells and Patty Walsh, and graduate student Megan Sears at center.
For Western Connecticut, the starters were senior guard Malaysia Dingle, sophomore guard Deona Garcia, senior forward Leana Heitmann, sophomore forward Fatmata Barrie, and senior center Sara Macary.
The game began with a solid two points for the Pioneers scored by Wells, but it was answered back with another two points from Western Connecticut scored by Heitmann.
Throughout the first quarter of the game, the Pioneers were missing quite a few layups and some easy points, but their defense kept Western Connecticut from scoring double digits. Eventually, the team was able to double the score with two minutes left, and the first quarter ended with the Pioneers up 18-9.
William Paterson began the second quarter by making some new substitutions. Sophomore Guard Kaelyn Gowdy, Junior Forward Menna Hafiz, and Sophomore Guard Leilani Pinder were the players among these substitutions.
Renee started the battle for the Pioneers with a three-pointer, making the Pioneers lead 21-9. Offense began to drop off a bit this quarter, with the Pioneers allowing the Wolves to pull within one, 24-23, before halftime after outscoring the Pioneers 14-3.
The Pioneers initiated the third quarter with a strong start, securing a 19-6 run in the first seven minutes. The Wolves’ bench seemed to quiet down a bit, not cheering as much as they were in the first half of the game.
William Paterson continued to make the lead larger, being extra aggressive on both offense and defense, shooting 8-of-14 (.571) from the floor, with Junior Mattison Chiera leading the charge with seven points.
The Pioneers extended their lead up to 12 points and ended the third quarter with a fantastic two-pointer from Walsh, making the score 45-32 heading into the last quarter.
The team was fighting hard to keep their lead, and with a jumper from sophomore Leilani Pinder, that lead was 15 points. The Wolves refused to give up, seeming to be scoring better, and responded with a 17-5 run to make it a three-point game.
With 21 seconds left, the Neers led but only by three when a foul on Wells, who made one, extended the lead to 55-51. Another Pioneer was fouled, sophomore forward Pinder, who made one of the shots with only four seconds left. The Pioneers won with a score of 56-51.
Some notable pioneers of this game were Renee Wells, with the team-high 19 points, adding six boards, five steals, and four assists, followed by Chiera, who logged 10 points with four assists; Walsh, who also recorded 10 points, along with a team-best nine rebounds with two steals and two assists; and junior Jada Jacobs, who tallied four points with six rebounds and five assists.
The Pioneers will play on Friday, Nov. 21, at John Jay University in an away game.
