Box Score

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ—NJIT had three players reach double-figures in its women's basketball season opener Friday evening led by sophomore guard Sarah Olson's game-high 20 points but it wasn't enough as the Seton Hall Pirates squeezed by the visiting Highlanders with a 69-66 victory at Walsh Gym.

Seton Hall is the fourth Big East opponent the Highlanders have faced since competing against a Division I schedule (2006-07).  NJIT has another Big East opponent on the 2012 schedule, St. John's (Dec. 28 at 7pm), which advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time ever last season. 

In addition to Olson, who shot 7-for-12 from the field and 4-of-9 from behind the arc, the Highlanders got a strong performance from senior guard Rayven Johnson who registered a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.  Senior guard Melanie Griffin was also a big contributor with 13 points.  Junior forward Uju Nwankwo added eight points and five rebounds for NJIT.

Seton Hall (1-0) got a team-high 15 points from guard Brittany Morris while Ka-Deidre Simmons and Alexandra Maseko scored 12 and 11 points respectively for the Pirates.

NJIT, which held a five point lead at halftime, 27-22, played a very tight game in the second half up until the final buzzer.

The Highlanders pushed its lead to six, 36-30, after one of two free throws made by Johnson at the 15:02 mark.  Seton Hall answered on a 9-0 run sparked by two free throws by Webb, increasing the Pirate lead to three, 39-36, after Morris sank a pair of free throws of her own.

NJIT stayed within four-points of the home team from the 12:23 mark to the 8:05 mark.  The Pirates then went ahead by six on three different occasions, the final at the 6:07 mark, on a two free throws sank by Chizoba Ekedigwe, for a 57-51 lead.  NJIT's Johnson scored the next two buckets pulling the visitors to within two, 57-55.

Just under the five-minute mark, Seton Hall's Maseko hit one of two from the free throw line but the Highlanders battled back to within one of the Pirates, 58-57, on a layup by Nwankwo, with 4:34 remaining.

The Pirates went up three, on a layup by Brittany Webb for a 62-59 lead, with 3:54 left to go.  Johnson answered again bringing the Highlanders to within one, 62-61, on a jumper from the free throw line, with 2:35 remaining.

Seton Hall pushed its lead back to three, 64-61, 21 seconds later after a pair of free throws made by Tabatha Richardson-Smith.  The game saw its first tie of the second half after Olson sank a three-pointer from the left side of the floor in front of the NJIT bench for a 64-64 tie with 1:44 left in the game.

Webb answered on the other end with a layup at the 1:32 mark, for a 66-64 lead.  The Highlanders pushed the ball up the floor and got the ball to Olson who dribbled her way through the Seton Hall defense making her way to the basket but was fouled hard by Webb, who picked up a flagrant foul with 1:03 on the clock.  Olson sank both free throws knotting the game at 66 and the Highlanders were awarded the ball on the baseline.

NJIT, which was called for a foul with 30 seconds, sent Maseko to the free throw line.  Maseko knocked down one of two for a 67-66 advantage.  First-year head coach Steve Lanpher called for his final timeout with 25 seconds remaining. 

Out of the timeout, Johnson dribbled to the foul line but a Seton Hall defender knocked the ball away as Johnson was able to pass the ball to guard Alyssa Albanese, who was positioned on the baseline.  With the shot clock winding down Albanese put up a shot just missing the rim as Morris pulled down the defensive rebound.  The Highlanders fouled Morris right away as she knocked down a pair of free throws at the other end to seal the game.

In the first half, neither team led by more than four at one-point.  The half saw five ties, the final at 22, on a jumper by sophomore guard Martina Matejcikova, which sparked a 7-0 run to close out the half, 27-22.

Johnson led all scorers at half with 11 while Seton Hall's Simmons had right after the first 20 minutes.

The Highlanders finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field (28-for-56) while Seton Hall shot 80 percent from the free throw line (24-for-30) and had a slight advantage on the boards, 34-to-30.

NJIT will return to action on Monday, November 12 when the Highlanders travel to Rider.  Tipoff is set for 7pm.  Last season, the two teams faced off in Newark with the Broncs pulling out a 60-50 victory.