William Paterson Captures BSC D'Angelo Tip-Off Title

Championship Game Box Score | Consolation Game Box Score

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Junior guard Julie Haledjian (Montvale, NJ) earned tournament MVP honors as the visiting Williams Paterson University Pioneers knocked off host Bridgewater State College, 77-68, in the championship game of the 2009 BSC D'Angelo Tip-Off Classic. 

In the consolation game, Clark University defeated Eastern Nazarene College by a score of 66-51. 

Joining Haledjian on the all-tournament team are sophomore teammate April Smith (Barnegat, NJ), sophomore forward Monica-Sabina Bharoocha (North Smithfield, RI) of Bridgewater State, Clark senior forward Jill Camilleri (Lancaster MA), and senior center Shardae Brown (Waterbury, CT) of Eastern Nazarene.

Haledjian averaged 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assist during the tournament.  In the championship victory over Bridgewater State, she finished with 15 points, seven assists and six boards.

After trailing 4-2 in the early stages of the championship game. Haledjian buried a jumper to knot the score at 4-4.  That would jumpstart a 17-3 run as William Paterson built a double-digit lead.

Bridgewater cut the deficit to six points (25-19) with 7:22 left in the first half on back-to-back layups by Bharoocha.  The Pioneers, however, answered with a 10-2 run and eventually took a 43-26 lead into the locker room.

William Paterson scored the first eight points of the second half and would get up by as many as 27.  Bridgewater would chip away at the deficit but it would be too much to overcome.  The Bears outscored the Pioneers 15-5 over the final 5 1/2 minutes.

Smith led the way for William Paterson in the win over the Bears as she finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.  Freshman guard BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, NJ) added 11 points and three rebounds.

Sophomore forward Shelly DePina (New Bedford, MA) posted a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds to pace the host Bears.  Bharoocha added 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, while junior guard Corey Cuddihy (Scituate, MA) chipped in with 12 points. 

Bridgewater shot just 37% (26-for-71) for the game including 2-for-20 from three-point range.  The Bears, in fact, connected on only 4 of 34 three-point attempts during the tournament.  William Paterson, on the other hand, was 6-for-12 from behind the arc.

In the consolation game, Camilleri posted a double-double with 21 points and ten rebounds to lead Clark (1-2) to the 66-51 victory over Eastern Nazarene (0-3).

Clark led throughout most of the first half and had an 11-point advantage (24-13) at the midway point of the period. Eastern Nazarene, however, outscored the Cougars, 20-9, over the final ten minutes as a lay-up by Brown with four seconds left sent the teams to the locker room with the game tied at 33-33.

In the second half, Clark led by just one point (47-46) with 9 1/2 minutes remaining in the contest.  The Cougars then went on a 17-3 run over the next eight minutes to put the game out of reach.

Freshman forward Kelsey Geidyman (Shrewsbury, MA) added nine points and ten rebounds for the Cougars, while senior guard Hannah Lacaire (East Brookfield) chipped in with seven points and a game-high five assists.

For Eastern Nazarene, Brown finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, while freshman center Alexis Malloy (Greenbelt, MD) posted a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds.

Clark shot 40% (24-for-60) from the floor, while Eastern Nazarene connected on just 20 of 72 (28%) field goal attempts.