Women’s Basketball

Since coming back from the mid-season break the Lady Pioneers are 6-4 in 2018, making them 12-10 overall on the season. Along with their good overall record they carry a 9-6 record in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, ranking them sixth overall.  Since the break the Pioneers were able to put together a four game winning streaking by beating Rutgers-Newark,  Kean University, Rutgers Newark, and Ramapo College, While the most impressive win came against New Jersey City University with a score of 96-14.

In the win against the Gothic Knights of Jersey City, the Pioneers  played extremely well as a unit. After the tip it was clear that the Pioneers wanted to be aggressive within the paint, in which they scored 64 of their total points.. Another part of the game plan that was executed to perfection was their defensive scheme. At times it seemed like it was a half court game as the Pioneers were able to steal the ball at half-court and start a fast break right away. The Pioneers scored 45 points off turnovers and 22 points off the fast break. An additional key to the team’s wide margin of victory was having key contributions from their bench, totaling 60 points. Freshman guard, Danica Defrank paced the scoring for the Pioneers with 13 points

Player Spotlight

Forward, Tori Woetzel  is having a strong Senior campaign, averaging 12.5 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game.  In 2018 she has had two 20 point performances that came against Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden, while she has scored double figures in seven out of the 10 games since the break. Woetzel has also posted two double-doubles coming against Rutgers-Newark and Stockton, while shooting an impressive .462 on the season. In addition to playing key role in the Lady Pioneers offense, Woetzel is displaying her presence on the defensive side of the ball, often times covering the opposing teams primary ball handler.

Men’s Basketball

Like the women’s team the men’s team is 6-4 in 2018 and carry the same record of 12-10 overall. Unlike the Lady Pioneers however, their overall NJAC record remains to be their Achilles heal as carry a 7-8 overall conference record. Due to the sub .500 conference record the Pioneers are ranked sixth overall in the NJAC. Even thought they are still in playoff contention they need to win as many games as possible the rest of the way since everything remaining are conference games. The Pioneers were able to put together a five game winning streak which began prior to Winter break.

Player Spotlight

The Pioneers put together a very nice team win against Stockton University with a score of 90-65. The standout individual performance from that game is senior forward Richy Espinal. Espinal broke his previous career high for points in a game with 29 points, in which he by shot a perfect 4-4 from three, and 11-11 from the field. Even though Espinal is not always known for his scoring he always make an impact whenever he is on the floor on either offense or defense. On the season he is averaging 15.3 points per game, and 7.8 rebounds per game, while shooting .420 from the field. His ability to be one of the best two-way players on team he is one of the major reasons for the teams success this season.