WAYNE, NJ -- Wayne natives
Jared Tactuk and
Courtney Vacca combined for 24 points and 15 rebounds, but Rutgers-Newark fell, 74-36, to William Paterson in a New Jersey Athletic Conference game in the WPU Rec Center.
William Paterson 74, Rutgers-Newark 36
Tactuk paced the Scarlet Raiders (7-9, NJAC 2-3) with 13 points while Vacca turned in her eighth straight double-double performance with 11 points and 11 rebounds, but the Pioneers (15-1, NJAC 3-1) held the Raiders without a field goal for a nine-minute period in the second half to turn the game into a runaway. Vacca now has 11 double-doubles on the season.
Junior guard
Martyna Ruminska added seven points and team highs of three assists and two steals, but the Raiders got just five points from the rest of the slim roster. Superior depth allowed WPU to out-score Rutgers-Newark, 41-14, in the second half.
A Tactuk trey with 10:57 left in the opening period gave the Raiders their final lead at 14-13, but Rutgers-Newark connected on just two field goals for the remainder of the period. The Pioneers took a 33-22 lead to the locker room at halftime.
The break did not help Rutgers-Newark. The Raiders hit just five of 21 shots from the floor in the second half, connecting on just one of nine 3-point tries.
Senior guard Erin Cook paced WPU with 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead four Pioneers in double figures in scoring. Guard Julie Haledjian came off the bench for 15 points, a game-high five steals and two assists while BriAnna Lucas and Elisa Brown tallied a dozen points apiece for the Pioneers who bounced back from their first loss of the season suffered at No. 3 Kean, 102-66, on Saturday.
Rutgers-Newark travels to The College of New Jersey on Saturday for another NJAC doubleheader. The women tip off at 1 p.m. with the men’s game to follow at 3 o’clock.