Box Score
 
NEWARK, NJ– Senior guard Rayven Johnson scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and sophomore guard Sarah Olson scored 20 points, 12 via long 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the game, leading the NJIT women's basketball team to an easy 90-31 win over neighboring Rutgers-Newark Sunday afternoon at the Fleisher Athletic Center.
 
The victory enabled the Highlanders to improve to 3-1 on the young season. The Scarlet Raiders, who plays on the NCAA Division 3 program who reside just down the block from NJIT, fell to 1-1.
 
The Highlanders jumped all over the Scarlet Raiders in the early going, scoring the first 18 points of the game, with Olson canning four 3-pointers during that stretch. Olson connected on her first four attempts from behind the arc.
 
“Sarah was unconscious for us in the early going and got our team fired up,” said first-year NJIT head coach Steve Lanpher. “There's something about the 3-point shot that gets you going and deflates the other team. We're trying to get Sarah to expand her game, but when she shoots the ball like that, she's tough to stop.”
 
Lanpher also liked the play of Johnson, whose aggressiveness led to her second straight double figure game in points and rebounds.
 
“Obviously, Rayven is a double-double machine,” Lanpher said. “I'm so impressed with her work ethic. She's making reads, finding other players and when she does that, she's unstoppable.”
 
The Highlanders shot a blistering 62 percent from the field in the first half, taking a 52-17 lead into intermission. Olson and Johnson had 14 points each in the impressive first 20 minutes.
The Highlanders took a 34-4 lead on a jumper from senior guard Melanie Griffin, giving NJIT a 34-4 lead with 7:03 remaining in the first half.
 
The Scarlet Raiders then outscored NJIT, 11-2, over the next three minutes to cut the lead to 36-15, but the Highlanders went on a 17-2 run to cap the first half.
 
Sophomore forward Martina Matejcikova scored eight of her 13 points in the first half coming off the bench.  She made two long 3-pointers during that 17-2 run right before halftime.
 
The Highlanders extended the lead to 75-25 on a rebound basket by Johnson midway through the second half. They held the Scarlet Raiders to only 20 percent shooting from the floor (11-of-53).
 
The Highlanders also had 25 assists, with Johnson and sophomore guard Alyssa Albanese leading the way with five each.
“That's the thing I'm most impressed with,” Lanpher said. “We were making the passes to the open players and playing with such unselfishness. I'm glad to see that.”
 
Yvonne Breland paced the Scarlet Raiders with eight points. Jade Howard had 10 rebounds.
The Highlanders return to action Tuesday night when they play host to St. Francis of New York at the Fleischer Athletic Center for a 7 p.m.
 
“It will be a good test for us,” Lanpher said. “We want to be able to protect our home court and rise to the occasion.”

Write-up courtesy James Hague