Box Score

NEWARK, NJ—Jessica Gerald scored a game-high 22 points, leading NJIT to a 72-46 Great West Conference win over visiting Houston Baptist Thursday night at the Prudential Center.

The win was the fourth in the last five games for NJIT, which raised its conference record to 4-1 and its overall mark to 9-11. Gerald also passed a career milestone, reaching 1,000 points with her eighth point against Houston Baptist.

With 1,014 points, Gerald stands sixth on the NJIT career scoring list. She is the first Highlander to reach 1,000 points playing her entire career at the Division I level.

The other double-figure scorer for the Highlanders Thursday night was senior Taiwo Oyelola, who netted 15 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. Taiwo also tied the NJIT Division I record for steals in a game, with seven.

The leading rebounder for NJIT was freshman Maria Sanchez, who tied her career high with eight boards.

Houston Baptist (3-20, 1-7 Great West) got 10 points from sophomore Taniqua Hollis and a game-high 10 rebounds from freshman Destini Texada.

NJIT used a dominant first half to take control of the game, outscoring the visitors, 43-18, in the opening 20 minutes. The Highlanders, who used their pressure defense, took advantage of 18 Houston Baptist turnovers for a 20-5 advantage in points-off-of-turnovers.

Taiwo Oyelola had scored all 15 of her points in the opening half and Gerald added 12 points in the period.

NJIT, which never trailed, opened a 17-2 lead in the opening 6:25 and led by at least 20 points for the final 5:30 of the first half.

The Highlanders extended their dominance into the second half, building their biggest lead—39 points—when Katie Piekielski made two free throws for a 57-18 lead at the 14:52 mark.

Jamie Spriggs finally made two free throws 5:19 into the second half for the Huskies, breaking NJIT's 14-0 start out of the locker room.

With both teams going deep into their bench in the second half, Houston Baptist trimmed the deficit under 30 points in the last 1:02.

The Highlanders, who will play all of their remaining games in the Great West Conference, are set to host Texas-Pan American on Saturday at 2 pm in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.

Texas-Pan American handed NJIT its only conference loss, 62-54, on January 14 in Texas.