LISTEN HERE LIVE STATS
The NJIT women’s basketball team will host Great West Conference opponent Utah Valley on Saturday at 2 pm in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center. … NJIT (7-11, 2-1 GWC), recorded its second straight win, defeating over Chicago State, 60-56, last Saturday, and is one of two teams sitting at 2-1 in the conference.
NJIT is led by junior Jessica Gerald with 15.1ppg; second-leading scorer in the Great West Conference. Senior forward Taiwo Oyelola is second on the team with 9.3ppg while forward Ivana Seric leads on the glass with 113 rebounds, 6.3rpg.
Utah Valley (4-17, 0-4 GWC), have lost its first four games in conference play and have five of their next seven on the road. Senior Julie Smith leads the Wolverines and the Great West Conference with 16.2ppg. Teammate Jenna Johnson ranks second on the team with 10.2ppg and has scored in double-figures in the last three contests (24 vs. Longwood; 17 vs. South Dakota; 14 at Chicago State).
The Wolverines shot 55.6 percent in the second half but struggled to just 15.4 percent in the first half at Chicago State. Smith led all scorers with 24 points.
The game can be heard live on www.njithighlanders.com with Matt Provence calling the action. Live stats will also be available.
Utah Valley leads the all-time series 6-2.
The last time both teams met was last year at the Independent Women’s Basketball Tournament in Utah. The Wolverines dominated the final two minutes of the contest led by Robyn Fairbanks who poured in a game-high 40 points plus 16 rebounds and four blocks to pace the Wolverines’ 75-66 win over NJIT.
NJIT had closed to within two points of the lead at 68-66 on a three-point play by Taiwo Oyelola at 2:12 but NJIT did not score in the final 2:07 and Utah Valley capped a 7-0 run putting the game out of reach.