Dec. 9, 2006

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - Senior Kelly Crowe became the all-time women's basketball career scoring leader for New Jersey Institute of Technology, raising her career total to 1,325 points in Saturday afternoon's 70-44 loss to visiting Lehigh.

Crowe, who finished with five points, scored the historic basket on a three-pointer with 9:49 left in the second half. She surpassed the old mark of 1,322, set by Nevea Van Wright, who played for NJIT from 1991-94 and 95-96.

Lehigh, coming off a 70-49 win over Binghamton two days earlier, set a fast pace in the first half against the Highlanders, grabbing a 40-23 halftime lead on the strength of 15-for-29 shooting from the field, including 4-for-10 on three-points, and 6 of 6 at the foul line.

The Mountain Hawks cooled to just over 30 percent shooting in the second half, but they were not threatened, thanks to a strong defense that held NJIT under 30 percent shooting for the game. Lehigh will improve on its national Division I statistical rankings of 40th in scoring defense and 88th in field goal percentage defense.

The balanced visitors got double-figure scoring from all five starters. Two Lehigh players picked up double-doubles, as Adrienne Blount got 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in 26 minutes and Melissa Rich scored 11 points with 10 rebounds. Rich added a game-high 3 blocks.

Rich, Sara Ellis and Kristen Dalton all finished with 11 points, while Blount and Alex Ross checked in with 10 points apiece. Dalton had 8 rebounds and a game-best 5 assists without a turnover.

Sophomore Jill Dickinson led the Highlander scorers with 12 points and she shared the team rebounding lead with freshmen Taiwo Oyelola and Lesley Hendricks, as each player grabbed five rebounds. Hendricks and Kehinde Oyelola shared the game lead in steals, with three apiece.

The Highlanders will make the short trip to Hackensack, NJ, for a game at state rival Fairleigh Dickinson on Tuesday at 7 pm.