Box Score 

EDINBURG, TX – University of Texas-Pan American used a 6-0 spurt early in the second half to take control and eventually win the first-ever Great West Conference women's basketball match-up over NJIT, 62-54, Thursday afternoon at the UTPA Fieldhouse.

The score was 37-34 after NJIT's Ivana Seric sank two free throws with 13:23 left in the game with the Highlanders down three, before Texas-Pan American's Aleeya Grigsby's free throws sparked a 6-0 run over the next two minutes that secured the win for the Broncs.

Four of the points in the decisive 6-0 run were scored by current Great West Conference Player of the Week Grigsby, who shared game-high honors (16 points) with teammate Maria Erlingsdottir.  The senior forward shot 6-for-6 from the field and 4-for-8 at the foul line.

Texas-Pan American got 13 points from Bianca Torre and 10 points and a game-high six assists from Marah Guzman.  Grisby pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

Seric led the Highlanders with 14 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds leading NJIT on the glass 52-33 over the Broncs.  The 52 rebounds sets a new NJIT Division I team record (old mark of 51 vs. Cal-State Bakersfield on January 11, 2008).

Senior Taiwo Oyelola chipped in 12 points, including 5-for-9 shooting from the field.  Junior Jessica Gerald added nine points while Rayven Johnson, making her second start of the season combined for eight points and seven rebounds.

NJIT had a 16-3 advantage in second-chance points and scored an additional 16 points from the free throw line --16-for-21 (76 percent) as a team.

Texas-Pan American built a 20-10 lead after Rachel Hester's three-pointer with 10:36 left.  NJIT answered the 10-point deficit with a 10-3 run over the next 4:07, pulling within three, 23-20, on Rayven Johnson's jumper with 5:45 left in the first half.  Erlingsdottir stretched the Broncs lead to six, knocking down her third three-pointer of the game, 28-22.  NJIT scored four points in the final 1:14 closing out the half, 28-26, as point guard Melanie Griffin scored on a running layup.

Erlingsdottir paced Texas-Pan American with 13 points – nine from behind the arc while Taiwo's six points led the Highlanders at the half.

The start of the second half was close, with Texas-Pan American leading by no more than five until Grigsby's jumper at 12:38 gave the Broncs a 41-34 advantage.  Texas-Pan American took its largest lead of the contest, 53-40, on a jumper in the paint by Grigsby, at the 5:22 mark.

NJIT will visit Houston Baptist on Saturday at 5:35pm (CT) in a Great West Conference match-up.