Box Score


NEWARK, NJ—NJIT started four freshmen in its women's basketball season opener Sunday afternoon and one of them, Sarah Olson scored a game-high 25 points, combining with strong performances from the returnees in a thrilling 70-66 win over visiting Brown in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
 
In addition to Olson, whose eight rebounds tied for game honors in addition to her leading 25 points, the Highlanders got 14 points and eight rebounds from junior Melanie Griffin and 13 points, including three decisive free throws with 1.2 seconds left, from junior Kimberly Dweck. Sophomore post player Uju Nwankwo was a big contributor, as well, coming off the bench for seven points, five rebounds, and a team-leading three steals.
 
Brown (0-2) got 19 points and eight rebounds from junior Sheila Dixon and 18 points from senior guard Hannah Passafuime.
 
NJIT, which saw a seven-point lead evaporate in a 41-second span in the last minute, pulled out the victory when Dweck was fouled in the act of attempting a long 3-point shot with 1.2 seconds remaining and the score tied at 66.
 
Dweck broke the tie on her first free throw before Brown coach Jean Marie Burr walked onto the floor and drew a technical foul for protesting the whistle on Dweck's deep 3-point try.
 
Olson, out of Howell (NJ) High School, would finish the game 9-for-10 at the foul line and made one of two foul shots on the technical. Dweck then returned to the line and sunk the last two shots on the three-shot foul for the final four-point margin of victory.
 
Olson, who scored 19 of her points in the second half, was one of four freshman starters for NJIT, joining center Nicole Maticka, point guard Alyssa Albanese, and wing Denisa Domiterova.
 
The only non-freshman among the NJIT starters was junior Melanie Griffin, who was making a comeback from surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament injury. She missed the final 20 games last season after injuring her knee in practice early last December.
 
Dweck, who started 25 games last year as a sophomore, played 30 minutes off the bench against Brown, as did Nwankwo, who appeared in 21 games last year as a freshman.
 
NJIT, which has five freshmen on its 10-player roster, began the day without top returning scorer Rayven Johnson (10.7 ppg in 2010-11), a junior, and freshman Kim Tullis, both of whom were held out due to injuries sustained in preseason practice.
 
The Highlanders started slowly Sunday, falling behind 10-5 when Brown's Lindsay Nickel hit a jumper just past six minutes into the contest. But NJIT used a 9-2 run to claim its first lead, going up 14-12 on two free throws by the freshman Albanese with 10:58 left in the half.
 
There were three more ties before Brown used a 9-2 run of its own to go ahead 27-20 when Passafuime nailed a three with 4:09 left in the half.
 
NJIT answered with another rally, outscoring the visitors 14-4 after the final media timeout of the half to grab a 34-31 halftime lead. Griffin scored six in the NJIT run and finished the half with 12 points. Passafuime and Dixon had a dozen points each for the Bears.
 
The Highlanders carried over their late first-half dominance into the second half, outscoring the visitors, 11-1, before the first media timeout of the half, which came at 15:49 with NJIT up, 45-32.
 
The Highlanders got their lead to 13 three more times, the last at 55-42 with 11:13 remaining, but Brown never stopped competing in the game of bursts.
 
The Bears whittled the 55-42 lead down to 57-54 with 12-2 run in just under four minutes, but NJIT stayed on top, pushing back to a 64-54 advantage on Olson's trey with 2:47 left.
 
The Highlander lead was an apparently comfortable seven points with less than a minute left, but Dixon hit a 3-pointer and then a layup, assisted by Lauren Clarke, who made a steal on fullcourt pressure in the NJIT lane.
 
After a Highlander miss on the next possession, Nickel got the defensive rebound with 36 seconds left, but Dixon missed a 3-point try with 16 seconds left. However, Clarke, who got the offensive rebound, was fouled and she hit both free throws to tie the score at 66-66.
 
Being closely guarded on the ensuing possession, NJIT couldn't get an open look, forcing coach Margaret McKeon to use her final timeout with four seconds left. The inbounds play ended with the ball in Dweck's hands and, with the clock ticking down, she launched a shot from at least 10 feet behind the arc. However, Clarke, contesting the shot, was whistled for the foul with 1.2 seconds left, setting the scene for what would be four Highlander points with the clock stopped.
 
The Highlanders are back in action on Wednesday at 7 pm, when they host Fairleigh Dickinson in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.