Box Score

NEWARK, NJ—NJIT made up for a slow start by scoring 51 second-half points and the Highlanders, led by a combined 29 points from seniors Jill Dickinson and Jackie McCaffrey, pulled away from visiting Savannah State in a 68-41 women's basketball win Tuesday night in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center. 

Dickinson and McCaffrey, who were honored in a special ceremony before their final home game, led the NJIT attack, as Dickinson finished with a game-high 15 points, followed closely by McCaffrey's 14 points. Junior Taiwo Oyelola came off the NJIT bench for 11 points and she pulled down nine rebounds to share the game lead in that category with teammate Ivana Seric and Alisha Nelson of Savannah State. 

The only double-figure scorer for the visiting Tigers was senior guard LaShara Smith, with 12 points. NJIT's Seric filled the stat sheet, scoring seven points, handing out a game-high six assists, blocking four shots and making three steals. 

The four blocked shots matched the career-high for Seric, who also rejected four Savannah State shots in NJIT's 65-56 win on January 11 in Georgia. McCaffrey made a game-high four steals, as NJIT made 15 steals as a team while Savannah State committed 25 turnovers. 

Neither team could find the range in the first half, as NJIT shot 7-for-28 from the field, including 1-for-14 on three-point tries, and Savannah State was 6-for-20 from the field. The Tigers committed 14 of their turnovers in the first half, which ended with NJIT holding a 17-14 lead. 

The Tigers actually surged ahead to start the second half, as Crissa Johnson hit a three-pointer to tie the score 22 seconds in and Smith made a steal and layup on the next possession to put her team ahead, 19-17. NJIT answered with a 10-0 run, with six of the points coming from McCaffrey, to reclaim the lead, 27-19, with 14:26 left in the game. 

The Highlanders' lead stood at 10, 38-28, with 9:40 to play, but they poured in 17 unanswered points in just 2:28, turning the game into a rout. The NJIT explosion was fueled by a combination of terrific shooting by the Highlanders and Savannah State's inability to cope with NJIT's fullcourt pressure defense. 

While NJIT was scoring 17 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the field, including two three-pointers for McCaffrey (8 points in the run) and 7-for-8 foul shooting, Savannah State had five turnovers and two one-and-done missed shots in its corresponding possessions. 

The Highlanders, who had shot 7-for-28 in the first half, were 16-for-32 from floor and 15-for-18 from the foul line in their 51-point second half. 

NJIT will wrap up the regular season on Saturday with a 3:05 pm (Mountain Time) game at Utah Valley. 

The Highlanders will return to Orem, Utah the following weekend to play three games in the Division I Independent Tournament