Wayne, N.J. (1/31/09) - Junior Cardiss Jackman (Tobyhanna, Pa.) led all players with a season-high 26 points as #19/21 Kean University defeated host William Paterson University, 81-74, Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Tiffany Patrick (Piscataway, N.J.) added a double-double 18 points and 12 rebounds as Kean improved to 17-3 overall and a perfect 9-0 in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) action. Sophomore April Smith (Barnegat, N.J.) led the Pioneers with 20 points and 10 rebounds as WPU drops to 15-6 and 7-2 in conference play.

In what started as a tight and messy affair in the first minutes of play, the Cougars found a way to pull away as Jackman ignited a 17-2 run for KU with a three-pointer at 15:52. She would go on to score 10 points in the run. Jackman led all scorers with 20 first half points while Patrick added eight points and six rebounds as Kean headed into the lockerroom with a 43-32 lead.

The beginning of the second half proved to exactly the same as the first, tight and messy. The Pioneers chipped away and took the lead with 12:22 remaining as BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J.) recorded two from the charity stripe. The Cougars quickly regained the lead and led by as many as nine as Patrick hit two from the free-throw line with 6:53 to go.

That lead quickly vanished as WPU went on a 13-3 run over the next five minutes and took the lead as Deidra Thompson (Prospect Park, N.J.) hit a jumper in the paint with 2:37 to go. Senior Ebony Jackson (Newark, N.J.) would later tie the game and give KU the lead for good as she hit two from the charity stripe with just over two minutes on the clock. The Cougars sealed the win with six points from the line in the final 30 seconds of action.

Jackson finished with 15 points while junior Danielle Brown (North Brunswick, N.J.) added 12 points and seven rebounds.