Box Score  

DOVER, DE—Raven Bankston scored 10 of Delaware State's 12 overtime points, helping the Hornets to a 75-72 women's basketball win over visiting NJIT Tuesday evening at Memorial Hall.
 
Bankston, a freshman guard who finished with a game-high 26 points, was one of three double-figure scorers for Delaware State (4-9), which snapped a six-game skid.
 
The Hornets also got 23 points from redshirt junior Tierra Hawkins, while Deanna Harmon scored 11 points, grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and shared game-high honors with seven assists.
 
NJIT (4-15) lost its third straight despite a double-double from graduate student Shakia Robinson, who was one of four double-figure scorers for the Highlanders Tuesday.  Robinson notched her third double-double of the season, all of which have come in the last four games, with a team-high 18 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Junior guard Martina Matejcikova filled up the stat sheet, scoring 12 points to go with four assists, three rebounds and three steals, while Kim Tullis and Alyssa Albanese each chipped in 11 points.  The 11 points for Tullis are a new career-high, surpassing her old mark of eight at Howard on November 17, 2013.  Albanese, the Highlanders point guard, shared game-high honors with seven assists.  Senior Uju Nwankwo finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
 
The Highlanders, who went to overtime for the first time this season, led by as many as 15 points in the first half (38-23), in a game that saw four ties and one lead change all night. 

Delaware State made a thrilling comeback to erase the 15-point deficit and tie the game at 47 for the first time with eight minutes remaining in regulation.  But the Highlanders scored the final seven points of the second half in 16 seconds to force overtime.
 
NJIT, which took an early 15-5 lead and held a 38-28 advantage at halftime, was still on top 45-37 when Delaware State exploded on a 12-2 run in a span of 4:30, with a layup by Hawkins making the score, 49-47 in favor of the Hornets.
 
The Hornets pushed their lead to eight, 62-54, after a jumper from the elbow by Hawkins with 2:15 on the clock. 

NJIT's Tullis knocked down a pair of free throws at the 1:49 mark cutting the lead to six, 62-56.  On the next possession, the Hornets made one of two from the free throw line with 1:20 left.  Neither team scored again until the final 16 seconds of regulation.
 
NJIT's forward Robinson converted a layup with 16 seconds to pull the Highlanders within five, 63-58.  After a turnover by Delaware State, Albanese knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key with the shot clock winding down, cutting the deficit to two, 63-61, with 10 seconds left. 

The Highlanders put Delaware State's Hawkins on the free throw line with seven seconds and she missed both free throws.  NJIT's Nwankwo grabbed the rebound and passed the ball ahead to Matejcikova, who dribbled the rest of the way down court to score the game-tying basket with two seconds remaining to force overtime.
 
Tied at 63 through 40 minutes of play, Delaware State scored the first five points in overtime – all coming from Bankston, for a 68-63 score, in the opening two minutes of the extra period. 

NJIT's Tullis answered with a three-pointer at the 3:29 mark pulling the visitors within two, 68-65, and the junior hit one of two from the free throw, bringing the Highlanders within one, 68-67, with 2:47 left in the period.
 
The Hornets went ahead by three, 70-67, on the next possession on a layup by Tylinn Carter at 2:21.  But NJIT's Albanese sank her third three-pointer of the contest, tying the game at 70, with less than two minutes left.
 
Delaware State's Bankston put her team ahead for good, 72-70, after converting on a layup with 32 seconds left on the clock.  After a double technical against the NJIT bench, Bankston knocked down three of four free throws for a five-point advantage, 75-70, with 14 seconds remaining.
 
The Hornets turned the ball over with 11 seconds remaining and the Highlanders converted on the opposite end on a jumper in the paint by Nwankwo, for a 75-72 score. 

After a timeout by the Highlanders, NJIT pressured the home team with a full court press forcing a turnover and giving the Highlanders a chance to tie the game with six seconds but their the shot was just off the mark.
 
NJIT will be back in Newark for a three-game homestand against teams from the Ivy League, beginning with a January 11 2 pm tilt vs. Brown in the Fleisher Athletic Center.