Box Score

WASHINGTON, DC—Sophomore Victoria Gonzalez scored a game-high 17 points to lead Howard, which built a 10-point halftime lead before scoring an 80-73 women's basketball win over visiting NJIT Sunday afternoon at Burr Gymnasium.

Gonzalez was one of four players to reach double-figure scoring for Howard, which posted its third win in its fourth all-time meeting against the Highlanders, while improving to 2-1 on the season with the win over NJIT (0-4).

The Bison, who were coming off a 20-point victory over Jackson State last weekend, led 41-31 at the half against NJIT. The Highlanders later pulled within four points, the closest they would get in the second half, 47-43, on a layup by freshman Alana Dudley.

Howard, whch led by double-digits a majority of the second half, watched the visiting Highlanders rally back from a 10-point deficit with 33 seconds remaining in the contest.

NJIT's Alyssa Albanese hit a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left, closing the deficit to nine, 77-68. After a Howard turnover on the inbounds play, graduate student Shakia Robinson converted a layup for the Highlanders with 29 seconds on the clock, for a 7-point gap, 77-70.

The Highlanders then cut the lead down to five, 78-73, when center Nicole Maticka sank a three-pointer from the left wing ,but Howard converted on the opposite end with 13 seconds remaining in the game for a 80-73 victory.

In addition to Gonzalez, who made 7 of 10 shots from the field, three other Bison reached double-figure scoring – Te'Shya Heslip (16), Cabria Johnson (15) and Aaliyah Wilson (12).

Wilson, Howard's two-guard, dished out a game-high five assists while Cabria Johnson combined for a double-double 15 points and 11 rebounds. The 11 rebounds were a game-high.

NJIT, which is still seeking its first victory, was boosted by freshman Dudley's career-high 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field, while Robinson netted 11 points and Alyssa Albanese added 10.

Forward Uju Nwankwo led the Highlanders with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while junior Kim Tullis put together a strong performance notching career-highs in points (8) and rebounds (9). Nwankwo recorded her first double-double of the season and eighth of her career.

In the opening nine minutes of play, NJIT fell into an 8-point hole, 15-7 after back-to-back three pointers by the Bison. The visitors answered with a three-pointer of their own by Martina Matejcikova and a layup by Nwankwo, cutting the Howard lead to three, 15-12, with 10 minutes left in the first half.

Howard scored the next seven consecutive points, all coming at the free throw line, for an 8-point advantage, 20-12. NJIT's Nwankwo scored the Highlanders' next six points, slimming the Bison lead to five, 23-18.

The home team extended its lead to double-digits for the first time in the contest after a jumper by Cheyenne Brown with two minutes left in the first half. Howard led by as many as 12, after a pair of free throws made by Cabria Johnson, with 35 seconds remaining.

NJIT's Shakia Robinson closed out the half converting a layup with one second on the clock, as the Bison claimed a 41-31 advantage at the break.

NJIT will return to action on Wednesday at 7pm when the Highlanders visit LIU Brooklyn. LIU Brooklyn leads the all-time series, 2-0.

The teams last met in Newark on December 12, 2007 as a career-best 32 points from standout guard Valerie Nainima and nearly flawless foul shooting enabled a quality Long Island women's basketball team to escape from the Fleisher Athletic Center with a 67-63 win over NJIT