WAYNE, NJ (Jan. 18, 2025) – The William Paterson women's basketball team weathered a second-half Rutgers University-Camden comeback and went on to defeat the Scarlet Raptors, 70-60, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game here Saturday afternoon.
 
The win lifts the Pioneers to 12-4 and vaults them into the NJAC lead at 8-1, one game ahead of The College of New Jersey, which lost at New Jersey City University on Saturday.
 
Rutgers-Camden falls to 6-10 overall and 2-7 in the NJAC with its fifth straight loss.
 
William Paterson has won its last three games against Rutgers-Camden and leads the all-time series, 60-6.
 
Senior guard Brianna Smith hit a pair of treys to jump-start the Pioneers to a 6-0 lead. Paterson led, 20-11, after one quarter, but by halftime the Pioneers' lead was sliced to one point, 31-30. Raptor freshman guard Mya Patino hit a trey with 19 seconds remaining in the second quarter as the Scarlet Raptors scored the last seven points of the half. Patino had five of those points, while senior guard Rahzirah Blocker scored the other two.
 
The Scarlet Raptors took their first lead of the game, 34-33, early in the second half on a layup by freshman forward Courtney Edmundo. After a layup by Smith helped the Pioneers regain the advantage, Rutgers-Camden surged back ahead, 36-35, on a pair of foul shots by junior forward Taja Brown. Paterson countered with a 5-0 run to take the lead for good, capped by a trey from Smith. By the end of the third quarter, the Pioneers had established a 51-45 lead.
 
In the final quarter, the Pioneers built a 55-47 lead before the Scarlet Raptors sliced the gap to 55-52, aided by three points from freshman guard Hope Goodwine and two from Edmundo, but an 8-2 Paterson run put the game away.
 
Junior forward Renee Wells scored a game-high 19 points for Paterson, while Smith added 15. Senior guard Victoria Palladino and junior forward Patty Walsh both added 12 points for the Pioneers. Palladino and senior guard Jade Martinez dished off seven assists apiece, while Palladino had eight rebounds.
 
Rutgers-Camden received the sixth double-double of the season from Edmundo, who scored 12 points and added a game-high 11 rebounds. Graduate forward Aiya Underwood tied her career high with 12 points, while Blocker netted 11 points and Patino added 10. Goodwine dished off six assists and added eight points.
 
Paterson shot 28-for-71 (39.4 percent) from the floor, while Rutgers-Camden went 19-for-63 (30.2). Both teams were sharp from the foul line, with Rutgers-Camden going 17-for-20 (85.0) and William Paterson shooting 8-for-11 (72.7).
 
Rutgers-Camden held a 49-38 advantage off the boards.
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to NJAC action on Wednesday when it hosts Rutgers-Newark at 6 p.m.