Kean Cruises Past WPU to Advance to NJAC Title
Game
WAYNE, N.J. (2/27/08) - Junior
guard Melissa Beyruti (Union City, N.J.) scored 18
points, including 16 points in the first half, as the Kean
University women's basketball team advanced to the New Jersey
Athletic Conference Championship game with a 73-45 victory over
host William Paterson University on Wednesday evening.
The #12/13 Cougars will square off with The College of New Jersey,
a 74-52 winner over Montclair State University, on Friday, February
29, for the NJAC title and the conference's automatic bid to the
NCAA tournament.
Freshman forward Tiffany Patrick (Piscataway,
N.J.) had a career night on the boards, grabbing 19
rebounds, including 10 off the offensive glass. Senior center
Chari' Cooper (Paulsboro, N.J.)
added her fifth straight double-double and 19th of the
season with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Defensively, the Cougars held WPU to just 23.3 percent
(17-of-73) shooting from the floor, including a 1-of-16 (6.3
percent) night from behind the arc, and held NJAC First-Team
all-stars Asia Johnson (Wildwood, N.J.) and
Michelle Pellichero (Milltown, N.J.) to just 12
points combined on 4-of-25 shooting.
In a rematch of last season's NJAC championship game that saw
the Cougars hit a three-pointer as time expired to take a 62-59
victory a year ago, Kean jumped out to an early double-digit lead
and never trailed after the Pioneer's opened the game with the 2-0
lead. Beyruti knocked down a three-pointer with 10 seconds to
go in the opening half, as the Cougars took their then largest lead
of the game at 37-24 lead at halftime.
The Cougars converted on 45.5 percent (15of-33) of their shots,
led by Beyruti, who had 16 points at the half, including 5-of-6
from long range. For the Pioneers, Johnson had seven points
and seven rebounds, while the Kean defense held WPU leading scorer
Pellichero to just two points on 0-of-5 shooting from the floor.
Kean opened the second half on a 14-2 run to quickly extend the
lead to 25 points at 51-26 just six minutes into the half.
The Cougars pushed the advantage out to 31 points on a
three-pointer by sophomore Cardiss Jackman (Tobyhanna,
Pa.) en-route to the 28-point victory.
On the boards, the Cougars held a 62-44 edge, as the two team
combined for 146 shots in the game.
Jackman finished with 16 points, including 13 in the second
half, while Patrick grabbed 15 of her boards after halftime.
Junior guard Ebony Jackson (Newark, N.J.) finished
with a game-high nine assists, as Kean recorded 20 assists on its
29 field goals.
Cooper's 14 boards give her 1,453 career rebounds, moving her
into 14th among all divisions in NCAA history while also
ranking her third all-time in NCAA Division III history.
Beyruti moved into 19th place in NCAA Division III
history in career three-point field goals with 259, while her 1,348
career points are just two points away from moving into third place
in school history.
For William Paterson, sophomore guard Elisa Brown
(Norwalk, Conn.) led the Pioneers with nine points, while
Johnson finished with seven points, 11 rebounds and three
blocks. Pellichero hit just 1-of-13 shots form the floor, as
she finished with just five points, 10 points below her
average.
The Cougars face TCNJ for the third time this season, as each
team won on their home court. Kean defeated the Lions at home
60-44 on January 16, while TCNJ recordeda 79-71 win on
February13 at Packer Hall. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
