Wayne, NJ…William Paterson University used a big run over the final 13 minutes to turn an eight-point deficit into a 71-53 victory over The College of New Jersey women's basketball team in a New Jersey Athletic Conference title on Saturday.
 
The win kept the fourth-ranked Pioneers undefeated on the season at 7-0 and 2-0 in the conference, while the Lions dipped to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the NJAC.
 
TCNJ challenged right from the start as the teams swapped leads several times in the early going. The Lions used a modest 6-0 lead midway through the period with three players getting involved on the offensive end of the floor. Senior Hannah Tait (Staten Island, NY/Notre Dame Academy) started the run with a jumper and classmate Jessica Imhof (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) dropped in a pair from the foul line. Sophomore Tiffany DeTulio (Colts Neck, NJ/Colts Neck) extended the lead to 18-12 with 7:09 remaining.
 
The Pioneers surged back to take a 26-24 lead with just under two minutes left in the opening frame, but TCNJ netted the final two buckets of the period as junior Candace Vigo (New Brunswick, NJ/New Brunswick Health Science Tech.) and Imhof each scored putting the Lions in front 28-26 at the break.
 
In the second half, TCNJ took its biggest lead at 45-37 as Imhof knocked down one of her two 3-pointers for the game. That bucket from long range came with 13:06 as William Paterson started its run to close out the game.
 
Imhof led the Lions with 12 points, while Vigo finished with 10 points and added eight rebounds. DeTulio just missed reaching double figures with nine points and she also grabbed six rebounds.
 
The Lions return to the hardwood for a non-conference tilt on Tuesday, December 6 hosting Delaware Valley College at 7 p.m. in Packer Hall.