Box Score

CAMDEN, N.J. (Jan. 13, 2018) – The William Paterson University women's basketball team watched a big first-half lead vanish quickly, but recovered here Saturday afternoon to outlast Rutgers University-Camden, 60-55, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game.
 
The two teams were tied for fourth place in the NJAC entering the contest, so the win lifts the Pioneers to 6-3 in the NJAC, while the Scarlet Raptors fall to 5-4. Paterson is 9-7 overall and Rutgers-Camden is 8-7.
 
The Pioneers, who hold a 52-11 lead in their all-time series against the Scarlet Raptors, outscored Rutgers-Camden by a decisive five points, 16-11, in the final quarter after blowing a 35-21 halftime lead.
 
Rutgers-Camden ran off the first 16 points of the second half, taking its first lead of the game, 37-35, on a jumper by senior guard/forward Cara Racobaldo (Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic) with 4:38 remaining in the third quarter. Her field goal came moments after senior forward/center Michelle Obasi (Camden, NJ/Camden Catholic) had tied the game at 35-35 with a jumper, giving the Raptors their first deadlock since it was a 2-2 game.
 
Obasi, pictured above, had nine points in the Scarlet Raptors' third-quarter run. She finished with 13 before fouling out of the game with 3:16 remaining in the fourth quarter.
 
The two teams finished the third quarter tied at 44-44, setting the stage for a wild final quarter that saw four lead changes and three tie scores. The Scarlet Raptors took their last lead, 48-47, on a layup by junior guard Gabby Greene (Howell, NJ/Howell) midway through the quarter, but a pair of foul shots by junior guard Ashley Castillo (Ridgefield Park, NJ/Ridgefield Park) put the Pioneers back on top, 49-48.
 
Rutgers-Camden forged the final tie, 51-51, on a three-pointer by Greene with 4:50 remaining, but a pair of foul shots by junior guard Julie Rovito (Ridgefield Park, NJ/Ridgefield Park) gave Paterson the lead for good. The visitors stretched their margin to 55-51 before a layup by Raptor junior guard/forward Ariel Robinson (Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic) made it a two-point game, 55-53, with 2:39 remaining. The Pioneers scored the next four points before the Raptors cut their deficit to 59-55 on a pair of Racobaldo foul shots with 49 seconds remaining, but the only point the rest of the way came off a foul shot from Paterson freshman guard Brianna Brooks (Saddle Brook, NJ/Saddle Brook).
 
The wild second half was in contrast to a first half in which the Pioneers seemed to take solid control of the game. After the two teams traded field goals to open the contest, Paterson ran off 11 straight points to grab a 13-2 lead. The Scarlet Raptors climbed back to within four points twice, at 19-15 and 23-19, but the Pioneers opened up a 35-21 halftime lead by scoring the final nine points of the second quarter. Brooks notched 10 first-half points for the Pioneers, while senior forward Tori Woetzel (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) added seven. For Rutgers-Camden, sophomore guard Lajerah Wright (Atlantic City, NJ/Atlantic City) had five first-half points.
 
Woetzel finished with 20 points, while Brooks added 11 and Castillo canned nine. Brooks, Rovito and junior guard CeCe Green (Boonton, NJ/Boonton) all had six rebounds to help the Pioneers hold a 36-31 edge off the boards. Brooks also added three steals.
 
In addition to Obasi's team-high 13 points, Greene netted 10 and Racobaldo canned eight. Wright and freshman guard Jordan Harbaugh (Mantua, NJ/Clearview Regional) both scored seven points apiece.
 
Obasi barely missed a double-double, grabbing a game-high nine rebounds, while Racobaldo added seven and Harbaugh had six. Racobaldo also had a game-high six assists and tied Greene and the Pioneers' Brooks for game-high honors with three steals apiece.
 
Paterson shot 18-for-45 (40.0 percent) from the field and Rutgers-Camden went 24-for-55 (43.6). The Pioneers, however, went 23-for-36 (63.9) from the foul line, while the Scarlet Raptors were only 5-for-10 (50.0).
 
The contest was the 90th career game for Racobaldo, making her only the 15th player to reach that total in program history and the second this season. Obasi played in her 90th game Jan. 6 at Kean University.
 
Rutgers-Camden plays another NJAC game at 8 p.m. Wednesday when it travels to The College of New Jersey.