Nov. 28, 2006

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - Visiting Saint Peter's used a 12-2 run over the last 3:35 to slip past New Jersey Institute of Technology, 67-61, in women's college basketball Tuesday night.

NJIT led, 59-55, when Aine O'Dwyer hit one of two free throws with 3:56 remaining, but Saint Peter's scored 12 of the game's final 14 points to rally for its fourth win in six starts this season.

The Highlanders, playing their first season of competition at the NCAA Division I level, fell to 2-4 when their upset bid fell short.

Tania Kennedy scored a game-high 17 points for Saint Peter's, which preceded the win over NJIT with a 58-52 win over Syracuse in the Peahens' last outing. Kennedy, a sophomore guard, scored seven of her team's 12 points in the game-deciding stretch run.

Freshman Natasha Morris came off the bench for 12 points--all in the second half--and senior Elina Kalnina added 10 points for the winners. Saint Peter's senior Elyse Siciliano was also productive off the bench, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds and blocking four shots.

Sophomore Jill Dickinson led the Highlanders with 13 points, as she shot 6-for-9 from the field. Freshman Kehinde Oyelola came off the NJIT bench for 11 points and a team-leading 9 rebounds in 17 minutes.

NJIT senior Kelly Crowe moved closer to the top of the school scoring list, netting 9 points--all in the second half to raise her career total to 1,311--11 points shy of Nevea Van Wright's 1,322 in a career that ended in 1996.

The Highlanders, who actually outscored Saint Peter's from the field, 51-49, were hurt by spotty foul shooting, especially down the stretch. NJIT shot 10-for-20 at the line overall and missed its last five free throws, all of which came after O'Dwyer's shot had given the Highlanders the 59-55 lead with 3:56 left.

Saint Peter's missed 10 free throws, too, shooting 18-for-28 in the game. However, the Peahens were 8-for-10 in the 12-point rally that secured the come-from-behind win in the last 3:35.

The game was close throughout, with NJIT gaining the upper hand early and building two five-point leads in the first half, the latest at 14-9 on Colleen Vogel's layup with 10:16 left.

The momentum then swung to Saint Peter's, which went on an 11-0 run in a little over three minutes, going up, 20-14, on Kalnina's layup at 7:13.

The visitors still led by six, 28-22, with 1:43 showing on the clock, but Taiwo Oyelola made two free throws and then her twin sister, Kehinde, made a layup with 32 seconds left, closing the Highlanders' halftime deficit to two points, 28-26. Kalnina of Saint Peter's led all scorers with 9 points at the break, while the twin freshmen, Kehinde and Taiwo Oyelola, led NJIT with 7 and 6 points, respectively.

NJIT grabbed its first lead of the second half, 34-33, on Ali Baumlin's bucket with 15:41 left and the Highlanders later took what would be their biggest lead, 49-43, on Crowe's three-pointer with 10:29 left.

Saint Peter's got closer, but NJIT stayed on top in the close contest until Kennedy put her team in the lead by one, 60-59, on a jump shot with 2:12 to play. That basket was part of an 11-0 spurt that saw the visitors take what would be their biggest lead of the game--seven points, at 66-59, with 43 seconds remaining.

Next up for the Highlanders is a game in North Carolina at Winston-Salem State, another program reclassifying to Division I, on Saturday at 5 pm.