In a 1-0 week for the Highlanders, Rayven Johnson tabed her sixth CollegeSportsMadness honor of the season, after coming off a record-setting night, scoring 36 points and grabbing 17 rebounds, while leading NJIT to an 81-75 overtime women's basketball victory over Texas-Pan American Saturday evening in Great West Conference action.
Johnson, who played a season-high 43 minutes Saturday, set a new career-high with 36 points, shooting 11-for-23 from the field and 14-for-19 at the foul line, as the Highlanders improved to 10-14 overall, 3-1 in the Great West Conference. Johnson's previous career-high was 30 points, which was done against Houston Baptist on January 15, 2011.
The 36 points are the second-highest single-game scoring total in NJIT school history and in the Division I era. NJIT's all-time leading scorer Jessica Gerald holds the record with 37 points vs. Cal State Bakersfield on January 11, 2008.
The 17 rebounds were also a new career mark for the senior and also an NJIT Division I single-game record. Johnson's previous mark was 14 rebounds done on two different occasions (vs. Lehigh, 1.5.13) and (Rutgers-Newark, 11.18.12). The previous DI school record was held by teammate
Uju Nwankwo (15 rebounds vs. UTPA, 1.13.13) and Ivana Seric (15 rebounds vs. North Dakota, 2.10.11).
The Highlanders, who never led in regulation and trailed by as many as 18 points, sent the game into overtime with four seconds remaining on the clock. NJIT put the ball in the hands of their leading scorer Johnson, who received the ball on the low block off an inbounds play. Johnson's turnaround jumper knotted the game at 68, forcing overtime.
