PROVIDENCE, RI – Jessica Gerald's layup down the middle of the paint with 2.8 seconds left lifted NJIT to a 63-61 come-from-behind win over Brown Thursday evening at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

Gerald, the senior guard, finished with a team-high 18 points shooting 6-for-8 from the free throw line.  Point guard Kimberly Dweck chipped in 12 points and tied her career-high dishing out five assists. 

Uju Nwankwo, a freshman forward, playing in her fifth game this season, scored a career-high 11 points off the bench for the Highlanders, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.  Nwankwo shared game-high honors with teammate Emily Schartner with two blocks apiece. 
 

Sophomore Rayven Johnson posted her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards to go along with three assists and two steals.  Senior Ivana Seric added six points and seven rebounds for NJIT.

Brown got a career-high 20 points from junior Aileen Daniels, who also finished with eight rebounds.  The 5-foot-10 forward was 9-for-15 from the field.  The Bears had two other players reach double-figures – forward Lindsay Nickel with 11 and Sheila Dixon with 10 points, seven rebounds and a career and game-high six assists.

The game became extremely tight with less than six minutes remaining in the game as the Highlanders who trailed at halftime, 33-19, went on an 11-2 run, knotting the score for the first time, 59-59, on a running jumper by Seric with 2:50 left.

The visitors took a one-point lead, 60-59, at the 1:13 mark as Gerald hit one-of-two from the free throw line.  On the next possession, Brown went ahead, 61-60, with 14 seconds remaining, as Lauren Clarke hit the first free throw, to tie the game at 60. 

NJIT head coach Margaret McKeon called for a 30-second timeout to re-group her team and ice the freshman guard.  Clarke hit the second free throw to give Brown a one-point lead, 61-60.

That set the stage for Gerald, who collected herself at the top of the key, and drove down the middle of the lane flipping up a shot avoiding Brown's attempt for a charge. 

Brown's Clarke was whistled for a foul which put Gerald on the line but not before Brown took a 30-second timeout.  Gerald stepped up to the line and sank the free throw securing the Highlanders third win of the season.

NJIT came out on fire in the second half hitting its first three shots from behind the arc, cutting the lead down to single digits, 37-28, at the 18:14 mark.  Brown pushed its lead up to 13, 45-32, as Daniels hit two free throws with 14 minutes left to go in the contest. 

The Highlanders sank back-to-back three-pointers – the first by freshman Jelena Zoric and second by Gerald, slimming the lead down to seven, 45-38, with 13:20 left. 

A layup by Johnson at 12:30 cut the Highlander lead to five, 45-40, but the Bears would extend their lead back up to nine on three different occasions over the next six minutes. 

The Highlanders will return to action on Sunday when they travel to Harvard for a 2pm tipoff.  Last season, Harvard defeated the Highlanders 69-53 in Newark.  Harvard is 6-6 on the season.