NEWARK - It was a bad sight to see Teo Masalia have to be helped off the court. It was a worse sight to see Newark take full advantage of the abscene, taking command in the second half en route to a 108-89 blowout victory.

With five minutes to go in the second quarter, Masalia landed awkwardly on his ankle while being fouled by Gordon Reilly from behind on a layup. For some Williamsburg fans, images of Willie Butenschen's career-ending injury flashed through their minds. Masalia was able to stand, though not without pain, evidenced by his loud yowls. He was assisted off the court by head trainer Peter Ewing and ushered into the locker room. The injury was later described as a mild ankle sprain.

Backup forward Leonard Mack got the start at the power forward position in an attempt to match size with Pride power forward Sheila Andrews. Hir inside game was somewhat neutralized in the first half, though Mack scored just two points on offense in 30 minutes of play.

The second half saw Newark take command as Theodore Sanftner hit four three-pointers in the third quarter. The Pride built a ten-point lead and kept the pressure on the depleted Minutemen in the final period.

Vera La Tiérra led the Minutemen with 23 points, but shot just 8-19 from the field. Valencia Zeraus forced her into three turnovers and the vixen missed four of her five three-point attempts in the fourth quarter.

"The second half was awful. Nothing seemed to fall," said La Tiérra after the game. Coach Roosevelt agreed with the assesment, and also seemed displeased at the rookie's shot selection. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, but Vera seemed too desperate at times. She kept trying to shoot over double teams and at bad angles." Damien Nathaniel added 15 points on 5-8 (3-7 on three-pointers) shooting and Masalia's replacement, Reggie Mackenzie, added 12 points.

Sanftner led all players with 24 points. Zeraus had 17 points, Sheila Andrews scored 16 and rookie Jarrod Frola had 15. The Pride hit 8 of 14 three-pointers and shot 48% from the field, the Minutmen shooting 40% from the floor.

GAME NOTES

Masalia was diagnosed with a mild ankle sprain. The injury isn't serious, but the panther is expected to miss Williamsburg's next two games... La Tiérra leads the Minutemen with 23.3 points per game, but her assist-turnover ratio is just 1.75 (14-8)... Ten of Nick Nwabudike's 31 rebounds are offensive rebounds... The Minutemen were outscored 59-40 in the second half.