Box Score
OREM, UT – Jessica Gerald's three-pointer with 1:51 left in the contest broke a 47-47 tie and NJIT went onto a 55-52 win in women's basketball Great West Conference action Saturday evening at the UCCU Center.
Gerald, a senior guard, scored her first points of the second half on the trey ball from the left wing and ended the game with 11 points (seven in the second half). Her jump shot with 1:51 left to play broke the fourth tie of the game and put NJIT ahead to stay 50-47.
The Highlanders, who snapped a brief two-game slide, are 6-12 overall, 3-1 in the Great West Conference. Utah Valley falls to 2-18 overall and is still winless in the conference with an 0-5 record.
In addition to Gerald's 11 points, the Highlanders got a game-high 21 points from sophomore Rayven Johnson. Johnson was 6-of-6 from the free throw line and shared team-high honors with Kimberly Dweck with eight rebounds. The eight rebounds for Dweck is a career-high for the sophomore.
Senior forward Ivana Seric added eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the visitors. Freshman forward Uju Nwankwo chipped in seven points, grabbed four rebounds and had two blocks in 19 minutes of action off the bench for the Highlanders.
Utah Valley had three double-figure scorers, led by junior Jenna Johnson with 15 points. Classmate Abbie Beutler scored 13 points and posted eight rebounds and shared game-high honors with NJIT's Seric dishing out four assists. Freshman forward Kali Roche posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolverines.
Saturday's game was close all the way, with five ties and no lead bigger than eight points, which came in the first half. NJIT ended the half on top, 30-27.
NJIT's Rayven Johnson and Utah Valley's Jenna Johnson each scored 10 points in the opening 20 minutes.
The second half was even tighter with two ties and no lead bigger than five, which came on one-of-two free throws made by Utah Valley's Kali, for a 43-38 Wolverine lead at the 11:17 mark.
NJIT went on a 9-2 run over the next seven minutes, to go ahead by two, 47-45, just under the four minute mark. The spurt was sparked by a three-pointer by Johnson at the 10:24 mark. Johnson had five points in the run while Dweck scored four.
The home team tied the game at 47 on a pair of free throws with two minutes left in regulation by junior guard Beutler.
NJIT will host Savannah State on February 3 at 7pm in the Fleisher Athletic Center.
Last season, Savannah State defeated the Highlanders 54-51 in overtime on a three-pointer by Crissa Jackson with 55 seconds left.
