It proved to be a tale of two halves, but in the end the Roadrunner Women's Basketball team showed enough resiliency to pull away with a 63-51 win over Camden County College Tuesday and advance in the Region 19 playoff tournament.

The No. 2 seed Runners disposed of the No. 7 Cougars after a furious comeback effort by visiting Camden County. The Runners had built a commanding 21-poiut halftime lead, but saw the huge advantage whittled down to 6 points with under four minutes remaining in the game. But Shannon Pierman (16 points), Alaina LaMonica (13) and Hadley Rodriguez (9) stepped in to convert several huge late points to seal the triumph and halt the upset bid.

"We loved the first half, but just lost our intensity and focus for a stretch in the second half," said Coach Rich Cooper. "But Shannon was just being Shannon -- we knew she would get the job done. And it's great to see players like Alaina and Hadley step up when it matters most."

The victory was the third this season for the Runners (19-6) over the Cougars (13-12), and all three wins proved to be tight battles. RCSJ will now face the winner of today's Brookdale - Northampton game at 5 pm in a North Atlantic District semifinal round set for Thursday.

The lead slipped into the danger zone to start the fourth quarter as Camden CC roared back from a 38-17 halftime deficit to cut the margin to 42-32 to start the fourth period.

RCSJ's advantage slipped down to six points, but LaMonica netted 6 points in the frame, Pierman added 6 more while Rodguez nailed a clutch three-pointer to squash the CCC comeback.

"We knew we were up against a tough team, but we were also confident this was our game to win," said LaMonica. "Everyone stepped up, and I was glad to be a part of it."

Watch for the results of the Brookdale-Northampton contest as the No. 2 seed Runners await their next opponent.