December 29, 2005

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX - It was a successful night all around for the New Jersey Institute of Technology women's basketball team and its leading scorer, Kelly Crowe, Thursday.

The Highlanders, 6-3, won the consolation game of the South Padre Island Shootout, defeating the University of Virginia's College at Wise, 79-63, and Crowe, who led all scorers with 23 points, became the fifth woman in NJIT basketball history to cross the 1,000-career point threshold.

Crowe, the junior guard, came into the game with 994 career points and rung up her 1,000th point on a free throw with 4:21 left in the half.

Crowe, who was named to the all-tournament team, actually moved into fourth on the all-time NJIT scoring list, as well, passing Wendy Gruenewald (1,006 points from 1992-96). Crowe's 23 points Thursday boosted her career total to 1,017.

In addition to Crowe's game-high 23 points, the Highlanders got 13 points from senior center Selena Kershaw and 10 points off the bench from senior Emese Gyuricza. The three double-figure scorers combined to shoot 16-for-21 from the field.

Crowe, Kershaw, Aine O'Dwyer and Ali Baumlin had five rebounds apiece for NJIT. Crowe had a team-leading 4 assists, while Erika Velez made a game-high 5 steals.

Sarah Helton led Virginia-Wise, 8-5, with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals, while Chelsea Lee chipped in 15 points for the Cavs. Helton was all-tournament.

In dropping their opening-round game to Nebraska-Kearney on Wednesday night, the Highlanders were done in by severe scoring difficulties at the start of each half. Thursday's game against Virginia-Wise began as more of the same, as NJIT found itself in a 13-2 hole after just three minutes.

Unlike Wednesday, however, the Highlanders mounted a successful comeback, answering the 13-2 deficit with a 17-4 run over the next eight minutes. NJIT went up on the Cavaliers, 19-17, when freshman Jill Dickinson connected on a three-pointer with 9:12 left in the half.

The game stayed close for the rest of the half, with the Highlanders gaining the upper hand, 32-31, on Baumlin's short jump shot with 38 seconds left in the half. Crowe later added a free throw for a 33-31 NJIT halftime lead.

Having started slowly in the previous three halves--two in the loss to Nebraska-Kearney and then the first half vs. UVa-Wise--the Highlanders turned around their fortunes in the second half Thursday.

Leading by two at the break, they took control with a 24-7 burst to start the second half, with a Crowe foul shot giving NJIT a 57-38 lead with 12:05 left.

The Highlanders led by at least 10 points the rest of the way and they held their biggest lead--20 points, 76-56, after Baumlin's layup with 3:08 left.

The Highlanders, who have completed their out-of-conference play this season, will play the first of 18 remaining Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games on Saturday, January 7 in a 1 pm game at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.