William Paterson women’s basketball junior guard Luci Custis will be honored at the Union County Baseball Association’s 70th Annual Hot Stove League Baseball Dinner on February 12 in Mountainside. Custis will be presented with the Joseph R. Lombardi Memorial Award, given annually to an outstanding female student-athlete from Union County, at the dinner which is sponsored by the Union County Baseball Association in cooperation with the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Union County Department of Parks, Recreation and Facilities.

A three-year starter and two-year captain for the Pioneers, Custis was a 2004-05 All-New Jersey Athletic Conference second-team selection after leading the team in scoring (12.5 ppg), steals (65) and minutes played (34.2 mpg) per game as William Paterson went 15-12 (10-6 NJAC), finished second in the NJAC and reached the conference tournament semifinals. She also averaged 6.0 rebounds per contest.  

As a freshman, Custis was second on the team in scoring (10.8 ppg), rebounds (5.9 rpg) and steals (74) as the Pioneers went 18-11 (9-4 NJAC), reached the NJAC Tournament final and advanced to the ECAC Metro Division III Tournament semifinals. It was the program’s first postseason appearance since 1998.  Custis is on pace to become the 17th 1,000-point scorer in Pioneer women’s basketball history. After scoring 19 points in Wednesday night’s 83-76 overtime victory at Kean, she needs just 93 points to hit the millennium mark.