Box Score

 

NEWARK, NJ – Saadia Doyle scored 23 of her game-high 27 points in a torrid first half, leading Howard to a 46-33 victory over the NJIT women's basketball team Thursday night at the Fleisher Athletic Center.

The loss was the third straight for the Highlanders (8-14), who have lost six of seven games in January while Howard improved to 11-7 overall.

Doyle, who entered the game as the No. 4 leading scorer in the nation at 22.6 points per game, got her seasonal average in the first half, when she made 10-of-14 shots.

“There's a reason why she's the fourth leading scorer in the nation,” NJIT women's head coach Steve Lanpher said. “She's unbelievable.  She has a great mid-range game and she's obviously a very good player. We were supposed to be handing off (responsibility) but we didn't do a good job. We allowed her to establish position inside and she was deadly.”

The Highlanders never really threatened from the opening tipoff and didn't have a player reach double figures in scoring. Senior guards Rayven Johnson and Melanie Griffin paced the Highlanders with nine points each.

The Bison took the early 4-0 lead and never looked back, capitalizing on the torrid shooting from Doyle, who pretty much scored at will throughout the first half.

Doyle scored four of Howard's first six points, as the Bison took a 6-2 lead. Doyle scored nine straight points for the Bison over a seven-minute span of the first half, giving Howard a 17-9 lead.

Doyle hit a jumper with 1:10 remaining in the half to give her 23 points and give Howard a commanding 27-12 lead. The Highlanders scored the last five points of the half, three coming on a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Denisa Domiterova and the other on a jumper from Griffin, making the score 27-17 at the break.

“Their match-up zone pushed us out further than we would have liked,” Lanpher said.

“They are very quick and we just didn't do a good job offensively. They hold opponents to 50 points per game, so we figured if we got more than 50, we had a chance to win. Their defense was simply better than our offense. Our effort was good. We just didn't make shots.”

NJIT shot just 27 percent (13-of-48) from the floor and just 3-of-12 from 3-point range (25 percent).

The Highlanders made a slight comeback midway through the second half, scoring four straight points on baskets by senior guard Kimberly Dweck and sophomore center Nicole Maticka, cutting the lead to 37-28 with 7:49 left.

But Howard answered with a 3-pointer from Cheyenne Curley-Payne, pushing the lead back to double digits at 40-28.

The Bison capitalized on several offensive rebound opportunities in the second half. During one stretch of the half, Howard had four straight offensive rebounds off missed shots. Howard had 18 offensive rebounds compared to five for NJIT.

“That was the key,” Lanpher said. “We allowed them to get too many second chance points.”

Howard had 19 second-chance points, compared to just two for the Highlanders.  “That's the game right there,” Lanpher said. “We can't win that way.”

Jerrelle Gorham hit consecutive driving baskets that gave Howard a 44-31 lead with 2:21 remaining, sealing the Highlanders' fate.

The Highlanders return to action Saturday afternoon in a Great West Conference showdown with Utah Valley State.

“We have a quick turnaround,” Lanpher said. “We have a tough opponent. This will be all about our season now. We have to have confidence and effort. We're not going to win many games scoring 33 points.”

Write-up courtesy James Hague