Newburgh, N.Y. - Junior Asia Johnson (Wildwood, N.J.) scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading William Paterson to a comeback victory over Mount Saint Mary College Thursday night, 60-53. Trailing by eleven points at the half, the Pioneers outscored the Blue Knights, 37-19 in the second half, and handed the Mount their first loss of the season. William Paterson jumped up to 3-2 on the year while MSMC fell to 4-1.

The Blue Knights got off to a good start, and a lay-up from junior Meredith Paggi (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) at 14:38 of the first half gave them a 12-4 lead. Continuing to maintain a comfortable cushion, MSMC pushed the lead to double digits as sophomore Shannon Sangster (Syracuse, N.Y.) hit a jumper with 5:18 to play. Just before the break and up nine points, sophomore Catie Biordi (Beacon, N.Y.) hit a lay-up with no time remaining on the clock to provide the Blue Knights with a 34-23 margin at the intermission.

In the second, William Paterson cut into the lead immediately, opening the half on an 8-0 run and forcing the Mount to take a time-out. Sophomore Elisa Brown (Norwalk, Conn.) scored back-to-back buckets for the Pioneers, one of them a triple, and senior Michelle Pellichero (Milltown, N.J.) capped the run with a three of her own. William Paterson would take the lead for good at the 12:39 mark, as senior Lori Custis (Roselle, N.J.) hit a pair of free throws. The free throws were in the midst of an 11-0 run by the Pioneers that gave them a 47-41 advantage with 11:35 to play.

Paggi would cut the lead to one with back-to-back lay-ups near the seven minute mark, but the Pioneers answered with the next six points to lead 56-49. Senior Jackie Markert (Voorheesville, N.Y.) brought the Blue Knights back to within three with a lay-up at 1:13, but missed a lay-up with 36 seconds to play after William Paterson committed an offensive foul at the other end. Pellichero and Johnson each hit a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds to put the game on ice.

Johnson shot 8-of-14 from the field for the Pioneers, who connected at 48-percent in the second half. Custis finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists and Pellichero contributed 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Markert was the top performer for the Blue Knights, connecting on 7-of-10 attempts from the field for 14 points. The senior also had 10 boards. Paggi matched Markert with 14 points and had eight rebounds. Sangster was the only other Blue Knights in double figures with 10, all of them coming in the first half.

Poor shooting was the real story of the second half for the Mount. The Blue Knights shot an abysmal 29-percent from the field in the second and connected on only 1-of-11 three-point attempts. Entering the game at 38-percent from behind the arc, MSMC shot 11-percent from three-point land (2-18) in the game. It wasn't much better from the free throw stripe as the team connected on only 3-of-11 (27.3 %).

Up next for the Mount is a home date with Old Westbury on Saturday, December 1. The game is scheduled to tip at 1:30 p.m. William Paterson stays on the road for a trip to Lehman College. The Pioneers will tip at 1:00 p.m., also on Saturday.