Wayne, NJ … The College of New Jersey women's basketball team dropped a tough game at William Paterson University, falling 61-57 in Wayne, NJ on Saturday afternoon.
 
The loss eliminates the Lions (12-12, 8-9 NJAC) from New Jersey Athletic Conference playoff contention. The Pioneers clinched a post-season berth, raising their overall record to 14-10 and 10-7 in conference play.
 
It was a back-and-forth battle throughout and the game was deadlocked at 55 with 3:25 to play. But a three-point field goal by Pioneer guard Jackie Rodriguez proved to be the big basket down the stretch and propelled WPU to the home victory.
 
Senior Angelica Esposito (Lincroft, NJ/St. John Vianney) had a team-leading 16 points, while classmate Jess Lynch (Newtown, CT/Newtown) added 12 points, a team-high eight rebounds, and four steals.
 
Sophomore Nikki Schott (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills) rounded out the double-digit scoring for TCNJ with 10 points. Junior Kim Dana (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) dished out four assists and added points.
 
Three players reached double figures for the Pioneers. Alex Milne finished with 15 points and eight boards and Brittany Harden also had 15 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Rodriguez added 14 points, including four, three-point field goals.
 
The Lions final game of the season will be on Wednesday, February 19^th when they travel to Kean University for a 6 p.m. match-up.