Boxscore

PURCHASE, N.Y. –  William Paterson University's April Smith and BriAnna Lucas combined for 49 points as the Pioneers defeated the Manhattanville women's basketball team, 81-60, in the season opener for both teams at Kennedy Gym on Tuesday evening.

For the Pioneers, Smith led all scorers with 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 from the line. The forward also finished with seven rebounds and hit a pair of long-range shots as well in a great overall effort. Lucas, a D3Hoops.com Preseason All-American, was second on the Pioneers with 22 points and also had five assists and three steals.

Senior guard Simona Gordon (Cambridge, Mass.) led the Valiants with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field with three steals. Sophomore Jennifer McSharar (Gainerville, N.Y.) finished second on the team with 11 points off the bench and hit 7-of-13 from the line.

The Valiants took their only lead of the contest on the opening drive, as Gordon hit an easy lay-up off the tip five seconds in. After that, William Paterson went on a 9-0 run and took a 19-10 lead with 11:51 remaining in the half, as Lucas hit a jumper from outside the paint. Smith converted on three consecutive free throws to give her team a 12-point edge with under 10 minutes remaining, but the Valiants tried to cut into the deficit, getting it to less than six points on three occasions.

The Pioneers took their largest lead of the half with 2:23 remaining as Smith connected on all five free throws and finished with 20 points in the opening frame.  Lucas and Smith combined for 30 points as the Pioneers went into the half with a 42-30 lead over the Valiants. Manhattanville shot 46 percent from the field and Gordon scored a team-best 10 points in the half.

The Valiants kept the deficit below 20 points for a majority of the second half, as William Paterson continued to pound the glass and made the most of their shots from the charity stripe. With 8:17 remaining in the contest, the Pioneers jumped up to 21-point advantage on free throws from Lucas. Manhattanville made an attempt to cut the deficit to single digits, but trailed by 13 points after a backend free throw by McSharar.

The Pioneers took control of the contest with under two minutes remaining and led by as many as 25 points after a pair of free throws by Lindsey Callander.  William Paterson finished the contest shooting 45 percent from the field (25-56), 46 percent from the outside (5-11) and 84 percent from the free throw line (26-31).

Manhattanville, meanwhile, struggled shooting in the contest, finishing the game with 19 field goals for 36 percent and going 0 for 12 on long-distance attempts. However, the Valiants got 22 points from the line and finished at 65 percent from the charity stripe.