BOX SCORE

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – No. 8/8 William Paterson (26-2) cruised past Salve Regina (19-10), 79-44, in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament March 2 at King's (Pa.) College.  The Pioneers advance to play host King's (23-5), a 56-42 first-round winner against Oneonta State (19-9), in the second round Saturday, March 3, at 5:30 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

The NJAC Player of the Year, senior forward April Smith (Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional) scored a game-best 23 points to go along with nine rebounds and four blocked shots.  Honorable-mention all-league sophomore guard Floriana Borova (Cresskill, N.J./Cresskill) posted 15 tallies and four steals, while junior forward Tatiana Javis (Hillside, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) had eight points, four assists and five boards.  Sophomore forward Dana Jeter (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) chipped in eight rebounds and four assists.

The Pioneers wasted no time taking control of the contest, building a 24-6 advantage by the halfway point of the opening period.  That lead expanded to 42-18 by halftime and 30 points (48-18) less than two minutes into the second half.  WP shot 40.9 (27-66) percent from the floor overall while limiting Salve Regina to a 13-for-66 (.197) effort, and owned a 56-41 rebounding advantage while outscoring the Seahawks 34-10 in the paint.

Lindsay Shorey had 21 points and 12 rebounds to pace Salve Regina.  Marissa Pendergast added eight tallies and five boards.

All 12 of William Paterson's players saw at least five minutes of action, and 11 of the Pioneers got into the scoring column.