Box Score
NEWARK, NJ –Jessica Gerald and Ivana Seric combined for 25 of NJIT's 52 points en route to a 52-41 victory over visiting Colgate Wednesday evening in women's basketball non-conference action at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
The Highlanders, 3-1 at home this season, were led by Gerald with 13 points (shooting 6-for-7 from the free throw line) and four rebounds. Seric, the 6-foot-2 forward, scored 12 points while tying her career-high in rebounds, with nine. Seric pulled down nine rebounds on five different occasions.
Sophomore point guard Melanie Griffin set a new career-high grabbing five rebounds surpassing her old mark of four which came against (UMass 1/7/09; Longwood 2/14/09). Griffin collected nine points for the home team.
Twin sisters' Kehinde Oyelola and Taiwo Oyelola tallied seven points respectively while Kehinde led the Highlanders on the boards with 10.
Colgate's center Tricia Oakes finished the game with 12 points and five rebounds. Freshman Jhazmine Lynch, who earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week posted nine points while Sami Kozlowski, the Raider's leading scorer posted eight points and seven rebounds.
Both teams were even in the opening 20 minutes, in a half that saw six lead changes and five ties. The Highlanders would take a 12-9 lead, at the 6:08 mark on a jumper from the free throw line by Seric. Colgate scored the next three points, knotting the first half for the fourth time, on a layup by Oakes. Griffin's pull-up three-pointer on the following possession, pushed the Highlanders back in front by three, 15-12, but Colgate would slice the lead to one, 16-15, with 1:20 remaining on another lay-up by Oakes. Gerald closed out the first half sinking two free throws with six seconds, for a 17-16 halftime score.
Griffin led the Highlanders with five points in the opening minutes while Seric and Gerald chipped in four points apiece. Seric pulled down six rebounds.
The lead remained steady at the start of the second half, until Kehinde Oyelola broke a 19-19 tie draining her first three-pointer of the game from the top of the key. Kehinde sparked a 9-0 run, connecting with her three-pointer, which was followed by back-to-back baskets by Seric and a jumper by Griffin. A layup by Colgate's Krista Moser stopped the Highlander run with less than 14:30 to play, 28-21.
Colgate cut the lead to four (34-30), on jumpers by Lynch and Kozlowski at the 8:09 mark. After a 30-second timeout by the Highlanders, Gerald knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing extending the lead to seven, 37-30.
After an exchange in points, the Highlanders scored the next four points, stretching its lead to nine, 41-32, with 6:34 left to go in the game. NJIT added to its lead on a fast break lay-up by Gerald for a 47-37 lead, with four minutes remaining.
Colgate's final points of the contest came with 2:46 on the clock on a jumper by Lynch, for a 47-41 score, but the Highlanders scored the final five points to make a 52-41 win.
NJIT will break to prepare for exams, returning on December 18 for a 7pm game at Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
