Wayne NJ… The College of New Jersey women's basketball team (9-3, 4-1 NJAC) defeated  William Paterson University (6-7, 3-3 NJAC) on Wednesday night by a final score of 72-46. Shannon Devitt (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) led the Lions as she scored a game high 16 points and added six rebounds.

The Lions raced out to a 13-6 start in the first quarter as Nikki Schott (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills) knocked down a jumper to give the Lions the seven point advantage. The Lions took advantage of 10-2 run in the second quarter capped off by two free throws from Jen Byrne (Medford, NJ/Medford) to take a 28-14 lead with 3:35 remaining in the first half. With less than a minute remaining, Byrne found Samantha Famulare (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Twp.) from beyond the arc, and Famulare knocked down her third three pointer of the first half to put the Lions up 33-19, a lead which they would take into halftime.

In the third period the Pioneers attempted to climb back in the game and scored the first five points to draw within nine, however the Lions built a comfortable lead with an 16-7 run that was capped off by two three pointers from Lauren Barlow (Spotswood, NJ/Bishop George AHR). In the fourth quarter, the Lions left no doubt about it as they opened with a 7-0 stretch to grab a 60-38 lead.

Devitt, who was recently named as NJAC Rookie of the Week for the fifth time this season scored 16 points on an efficient 7-11 shooting from the field. Schott added 12 points on 5-9 shooting from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. Charlotte Schum (East Hanover, NJ/Morris Catholic) added eight points and five rebounds, while Barlow did not miss for the second straight game and tallied eight points.

The Lions shot the ball well from three point range, as they went 11-25 (44%) on the evening. Defensively, they generated 24 turnovers, which turned into 19 points on the offensive end while the Pioneers only scored six points off turnovers. The bench contributed for the second straight game, as they outscored the Pioneers' bench by a tally of 33-11.

The mark of 9-3 is the best start to a season since the 2013-14 campaign for the Lions. They will look to remain hot when they host Ramapo College on January 6^th at 1:00 pm in Packer Hall.