CLEMSON, SC—Freshman Shelbie Davenport scored 15 points to lead three double-figure scorers for Clemson, which dominated the first half on the way to defeating visiting NJIT 64-47, in women's basketball action Monday afternoon in Clemson's Littlejohn Coliseum.
 
The Tigers, who won their fifth game in a row and eighth overall, are now 8-0 at home in Littlejohn Coliseum for the first time since 1998.  Visiting NJIT falls to 5-10 on the season.
 
In addition to Davenport, who scored 8 points in the first and 7 in the second half, the Tigers got 12 points from sophomore guard Tiffany Lewis and 11 points from senior guard Nikki Dixon, who was selected to the 2014-15 Preseason All-ACC team.
 
Davenport, the Tigers' 6-foot wing, led the team on the glass with six rebounds, while 6-foot-2 freshmen Ivy Atkism was credited with five rebounds and six points in 15 minutes of action off the bench.
 
NJIT had one double-figure scorer, senior point guard Alyssa Albanese, who finished with a game-high 17 points.  Albanese sank a career-high 5 three-pointers while the senior's four assists also led the Highlanders.
 
There were no other double-figure scorers for the Highlanders aside from Albanese, but Nicole Maticka contributed nine points, followed by seven points from sophomore forward Leah Horton.
 
Maticka, the Highlanders 6-foot-3 center from Slovakia, pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds as the visitors out-rebounded Clemson, 37-33.  Martina Matejcikova, also a senior, and Horton grabbed four rebounds apiece for the Highlanders and Maria Ruban, Camerin Spahn and Horton were credited with one block apiece.
 
Leading at the half, 33-21, the Tigers extended their lead 39-23 in the opening five minutes of the second half, after a layup by Dixon.
 
The Highlanders used a 10-0 run to slim the Tiger lead to single digits at 39-33, with 12:35 left. Matejcikova sparked the run with a jumper at the 14:48 mark followed by two three-pointers by Albanese.
 
Clemson's Atkism hit back-to-back layups, extending the Tiger lead back to double-digits, as part of a 12-3 run.
 
The Tigers opened up the contest 11-1 run and later increased their advantage to 14, 17-3, at the 13:40 mark, after a fast break layup by Lewis.
 
NJIT answered with a 9-0 run, cutting the Tiger lead to five, 17-12, after a jumper by Alana Dudley, with less than 10 minutes left in the first period. 
 
Clemson scored the next seven unanswered for a 24-12 advantage with eight minutes remaining and would later head into the locker room at halftime with a 33-19 lead.
 
"I'm proud of our team's overall effort today", NJIT head coach Steve Lanpher commented  "We got off to a slow start down 11-1 but responded well.  I thought we handled Clemson's pressure pretty well and held our own on the boards.  I also thought we out-executed them in the second half, but unfortunately didn't shoot well enough to come away with a victory."
 
The Highlanders, who closed out the 2014 portion of their schedule, will tip off the New Year at Wofford, also in South Carolina, on January 2.