NEWARK, NJ – Jessica Gerald scored 20 points pacing NJIT in a 60-57 women's basketball win over Howard Wednesday afternoon in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.

Gerald, a senior guard, has scored in double-figures in the last three-out-of-four contests, with a high of 20 Wednesday for the Highlanders. Twelve of her team-high 20 points came at the foul line on 14 free throws, many of which were the result of her tenacious work driving to the rim.  NJIT as a team, shot 81 percent (25-31)for the game from the free throw line.

After Gerald, the Highlanders (2-8) got 13 points from sophomore point guard Kimberly Dweck, who shot 6-for-8 from the free throw line for NJIT.

On the boards, sophomore forward Maria Sanchez came off the bench and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds against Howard as the Highlanders, edged the Bison 41 to 38.  Sanchez also netted nine points. 

Freshman forward Kristian Parker scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds, tying her career-high in both categories, which was accomplished against Delaware State on November 24.

Howard fell to 3-9 despite getting game-high totals of 26 points and 13 rebounds (sharing honors with Sanchez) from forward Saadia Doyle.  The 5-foot-11 sophomore made 10-of-13 shots from the free throw line.

Cheyenne Curley-Payne chipped in 12 points for the Bison while sophomore guard Tamoria Holmes finished with a game-high four assists.

The game was close throughout, with three ties and six lead changes and it wasn't until NJIT took a 35-26 lead after the Highlanders exploded on an 11-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half.  Parker sparked the run by knocking down two free throws at the 18:50 mark.  Gerald had five points in the run while Rayven Johnson contributed four points.

The Highlanders extended its lead to double-digits with 11:34 remaining on Parker's jumper in the paint but the Bison went on an 8-2 run pulling within four of NJIT, 41-37, on Doyle's layup at 8:51.

NJIT answered by knocking down back-to-back three-pointers by Gerald and Sanchez and Dweck completed the run with a fast break layup increasing the Highlander lead to 12, 49-37, with 7:20 remaining.

Howard inched its way back into the game as Curley-Payne connected on a fast break three-pointer from the left wing in front of her bench with merely 1:48 remaining, closing the Highlander gap to three, 57-54.

A foul by NJIT at 1:20, put Curley-Payne at the free throw line but the sophomore only hit one of two, making it a two-point game, 57-55.

The Highlanders scored three points at the free throw line in the final 10 seconds to secure its second win of the season, 60-57.

NJIT was held scoreless for nearly six minutes in the first half as the Bison went on a 13-4 run to a 24-15 lead with 1:51 left in the first half.  The Highlanders rallied to trail 26-24 at the half after a buzzer beating three-pointer by Emily Schartner.

Schartner finished the game with four points, four rebounds, two steals, two assists and two blocks in 24 minutes of action of the bench for the Highlanders. 

The Highlanders will break for the holiday and return to action on Wednesday December 29 at 7pm in Chicago against Big East Conference opponent DePaul.

The Blue Demons finished 21-12 last season and appeared in the 2010 NCAA Division I Tournament.