Box Score

NEWARK, NJ—Senior guard Rayven Johnson overcame a slow start to score a game-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading the NJIT women's basketball team to a come-from-behind 73-61 win over St. Francis Brooklyn at the Fleisher Athletic Center Tuesday night.
 
The win enabled the Highlanders to improve to 4-1 overall, the best five-game start since the women's basketball program was elevated to the NCAA Division I level in 2006-07. The loss was the first of the season after two wins for the Terriers.
 
The Highlanders trailed by 18 at 41-23 with just 1:56 remaining in the first half. But the Highlanders showed some life by hitting consecutive 3-point field goals by sophomore forward Martina Matejcikova and Sarah Olson to slice the lead to 41-29 at the break.
 
“It was the first time this season we hit some adversity,” said first-year NJIT women's head coach Steve Lanpher. “We didn't play well and could have easily folded. But we didn't let the game get away from us and we drew closer together. We gutted it out and got after them, playing better defense in the second half.”
 
The Highlanders scored the first seven points of the second half to draw to within 41-36. Johnson made a driving layup to start the half, then Olson hit another 3-pointer, one of six she canned on the night en route to 22 points and then junior forward Uju Nwankwo made two free throws with 18:31 remaining and the Highlanders were right back in it, capping a 13-0 run that spanned both halves.
 
Johnson made two straight layups that gave the Highlanders a 49-48 lead with 12:03 left.
 
“She had a tough first half,” Lanpher said of Johnson. “I think she had only one field goal, but she kept battling. She was settling too much for contested jump shots in the first half, but in the second half, she just took the game over.”
 
Johnson made just 1-of-7 shots in the first half, but connected on 7-of-13 after the break. Johnson also connected on all nine of her free throw attempts in the win.
 
After the Highlanders grabbed the lead in the second half, they extended the lead to 60-55 with 5:19 left on another driving basket from Johnson.
 
The Terriers sliced the lead to 60-57 on a layup by Jaymee Veney with 4:23 left, but Johnson scored eight points the rest of the way to secure the huge win.
 
The Highlanders also received eight points, seven rebounds and a career-best six blocked shots from Nwankwo.
 
“Uju had four big blocks in the second half and almost singlehandedly changed the defense,” Lanpher said. “She took over the post play.”
 
The Highlanders also got a career-best nine assists from senior guard Kimberly Dweck.  The nine assists dished out vs. St. Francis Brooklyn ties the NJIT Division I record with Ivana Seric's nine assists vs. Texas-Pan American on February 20, 2012.  “She was outstanding, playing 28 minutes with nine assists and no turnovers,” Lanpher said.
 
Matejcikova had a fine game off the bench, hitting three 3-point field goals for nine points.
 
Olson had her second straight solid outing as well.
 
“Sarah is obviously shooting very well,” Lanpher said. “She's had a reputation as a great shooter, but she plays so hard all the time that her effort is contagious.”
 
Sarah Benedetti scored 16 points to lead the Terriers, while Jessica Kaufman added 10.
 
Lanpher is obviously pleased with his team's solid start out of the blocks.
“I thought we had a chance to be pretty good if we took care of the little things,” Lanpher said. “I just want us to continue to get better. This was a big win, because we could have got down on ourselves, but we trusted each other and made the comeback. We look like a team, working for each other.”
 
The Highlanders return to action Sunday afternoon when they play host to Stony Brook at the Fleisher Athletic Center, with tipoff slated for 2 p.m.
 
Write-up courtesy James Hague