Box Score

NEWARK, NJ—Sophomore forward Uju Nwankwo marked her first start of the year with 14 points, 13 rebounds, five blocked shots and two steals, leading NJIT to a 68-65 win over visiting Wagner in non-conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
 
NJIT upped its record to 2-1 with scoring leadership from Nwankwo and juniors Rayven Johnson (14 points) and Kimberly Dweck (13 points).
 
Johnson picked up four steals, pacing NJIT's team total of 14 in that category and freshman center Nicole Maticka collected nine rebounds and three steals and chipped in nine rebounds.
 
Another freshman, Sarah Olson, finished with nine points for the Highlanders, including 4-for-4 clutch foul shooting in the closing 2:22. Indeed, NJIT, which shot just 7-for-14 at the line in the first half, was 14-for-20 in the second half, including 8-for-10 in the last three minutes of a contest neither team led by more than nine points at any time.
 
Wagner (1-2) had three double-figure scorers, topped by a game-high 21 points from senior center Kelly Clark, plus 14 points apiece from Marie-Laurence Archambault and Chanez Robinson. Clark and Robinson each grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Wagner on the boards. Clark also blocked four shots.
 
Aside from posting its second win in three starts, NJIT could take heart in its ability to close out Wagner down the stretch. In the previous two games—a 70-66 season opening win over Brown and a 68-57 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson—the closing minutes gave the Highlanders trouble.
 
Against Brown, they needed four made free throws with 1.2 seconds left to pull out a game that had seen their seven-point lead with 1:09 left dwindle down to a tie in a span of 55 seconds. Facing FDU, the Highlanders trailed by two with 4:03 left, but were outscored the rest of the way, 13-4.
 
In Saturday's game vs. Wagner, the Highlanders led by nine, 60-51, on Dweck's jumper with 4:13 on the clock and kept at least a two-possession lead until Clark made a 3-pointer, her first long-range try of the year, with 13 seconds left to close the score to 67-65.
 
NJIT's Melanie Griffin then iced the victory with plays on both ends of the court in the closing 11 seconds. Fouled in the backcourt on the ensuing inbounds play after Clark's three, Griffin made the first of two free throws with 11 seconds left for a 68-65 NJIT. Then she stole the ball with two seconds left, preventing a last-ditch bid for Wagner.
 
The Seahawks led at the end of the first half, 36-35, topped by 12 points from the 6-foot-3 Clark and 11 from Robinson, a 6-foot-2 junior. Johnson had nine points to lead NJIT at the break, followed by seven apiece from Nwankwo and Dweck.
 
The first half featured two big runs, one by each side. NJIT had taken a 22-17 lead on Griffin's trey with 10:22 left in the half, before the Seahawks ran off a 13-1 spurt, capped by Archambault's 3-pointer with 6:59 on the clock.
 
Down at that point, 30-23, the Highlanders generated their own 10-1 burst and took a 33-31 lead on Nwankwo's put-back layup with 2:25 remaining.
 
Neither team led by more than four points through the first 7:08 of the second half, as the visitors held a 46-42 advantage on Shawn-Marie Heliger's three with 12:52 left.
 
NJIT then surged into the lead to stay with an 11-0 run over the following 3:30, led by five points from Maticka, who was joined by Nwankwo with traditional 3-point plays in the rally. Johnson made a free throw to cap the spurt at 9:22, with a 53-46 Highlander lead.
 
NJIT took a pair of eight-point leads after that and Dweck's bucket put the Highlanders on top by a game-high nine, 60-51, setting up the finish with 4:13 left.
 
The Highlanders, who play eight of their first 10 games at home, will go on the road next for the first away contest this season, as they visit Delaware State in a pre-Thanksgiving game on Wednesday at 5:30 pm.