Jan. 28, 2008

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - NJIT erupted for 43 second-half points, first erasing a four-point halftime deficit and then pulling away to a 65-56 women's basketball victory over visiting Texas-Pan American Monday night in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.

The Highlanders, who trailed 26-22 at halftime, outscored the visitors in the second half, 43-30, led by freshman Jessica Gerald, who poured in 17 of her game-high 22 points in the second half. She scored 20 in the last 20:27.

NJIT's second-leading scorer in the game, Taiwo Oyelola, did most of her damage in the second half, as well. Taiwo collected 11 of her total 14 points in the second half.

Senior guard LaKeisha Gray led the visiting Broncs with 14 points, while freshman center Maria Erlingsdottir added 12 points and junior Teshay Winfrey chipped in 10 points.

The Highlanders, who are 4-3 in their last seven, won their sixth game overall, adding to their improvement over 2006-07, when they won four games in their first season of Division I competition.

A key in NJIT's win was a school Division I-record 10 three point field goals on 27 attempts. The previous mark was eight, done on March 1, 2007 against North Dakota State and matched against Princeton this season on December 28.

Gerald shot 4-for-8 from long range and Taiwo Oyelola and Jill Dickinson each canned two three-pointers.

NJIT had a big advantage in points off of turnovers (31-16), while UTPA had a 45-28 team rebounding edge. The plus-17 rebounding margin did not serve the Broncs as l as it might have, however, as NJIT won the battle of second-chance points, 16-11.

Texas-Pan American's Winfrey finished with a double-double, grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds to go with her 10 points.

Taiwo Oyelola led NJIT on the boards, pulling down eight. She also made three steals, following senior teammate Erika Velez (4) in that category. UTPA's Gray and Tiona Wilson registered four steals apiece to share game honors with Velez.

NJIT struggled to make a shot early in the game, missing 11 shots before scoring its 10th point at the 8:20 mark of the first half.

Texas-Pan American was still in sight, however, thanks to strong play by the Highlanders on the defensive end that helped fuel eight Bronc turnovers, buying the Highlanders time to find their shooting range.

As a result, UTPA had only 16 points of its own by the time NJIT finally reached double figures.

Still, the Highlanders scoring struggles continued and Texas-Pan American took what would be its biggest lead of the game, 26-13, on a pair of free throws by Winfrey with 3:15 left in the half.

NJIT, which has branded itself all season as a team that will continue battling no matter what goes before, then rallied for nine unanswered points. The closing spurt began with a traditional three-point play by Ivana Seric, followed by a three-point bucket by Taiwo Oyelola and then another trey by Gerald with 27 seconds left, closing the deficit to four points, 26-22, at the break.

Gerald, who has demonstrated ability to score points in bunches, opened the second half with a three-pointer and then gave the Highlanders their first lead since the very early going, on a fast-break layup at 18:39 for a 27-26 NJIT advantage.

Texas-Pan American answered with a 6-2 spurt to go back up by three, but Dickinson knotted the score at 32-32 on a three-pointer with 16:44 left.

Taiwo Oyelola broke the deadlock for good with a triple at 15:29, going up a game-high 13 points when Katie Piekielski made two free throws for a 64-51 lead with 21 seconds left. NJIT led by at least eight points over the final 4:04.

Piekielski's two free throws were part of a solid effort at the foul line, as NJIT shot 74 percent (17-23) overall, including 7-for-8 in the last 54 seconds to seal the win. Texas-Pan American, too, was strong at the line, making 19 of its 23 tries (83 percent).

The win over Texas-Pan American produced a small bit of NJIT history. Monday night's win, coupled with NJIT's 67-61 win over the Broncs in Texas on January 9 marks the first time the Highlanders, in their second season of Division I competition, have swept a two-game regular season series from a Division I opponent.

The teams could meet a third time in the season-ending Division I Independent tournament, which will be hosted by Texas-Pan American March 6 to March 8.

Next up for the Highlanders is a road game against a formidable foe--Utah Valley, on February 9 in Orem, UT. Utah Valley, 13-6 overall and 9-0 at home this season, won both of its meetings against NJIT last season.