NEWARK, NJ – Sophomore forward
Leah Horton scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while sophomore guard
Alana Dudley added 15 points, leading the NJIT women's basketball team to a 52-48 victory over Binghamton at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center Saturday afternoon.
The victory was the second straight for the Highlanders, improving them to 5-4 overall with their fourth win in their last five games. Binghamton drops to 1-6.
Senior guard
Kim Tullis was huge off the bench for the Highlanders, scoring seven points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Alana Dudley made two clutch free throws with 19 seconds left and Horton added one with 10 seconds remaining, icing the win for the Highlanders.
The Bearcats were led by Imani Watkins, who scored 19 points and Sherae Swinson, who added 14.
After the Bearcats scored the game's first four points, Horton scored the next five, giving the Highlanders an early 5-4 lead. Horton scored on two power moves and added a free throw in the stretch.
The Highlanders received a huge contribution from sophomore
Alana Dudley, who scored 11 straight Highlander points in a stretch of three minutes. Her third 3-pointer of that span gave the Highlanders a 21-14 lead with 7:49 remaining in the half.
Horton then pushed the lead with four straight points, all from close range, giving NJIT a 30-18 lead with 4:04 remaining before halftime.
The Highlanders held a 33-25 lead at intermission.
Alana Dudley and Horton led the way at the break with 11 points each.
Watkins made a conventional three-point play and Swinson followed with a rebound basket to slice the NJIT lead to 37-36 with 15:45 remaining, the closest the Bearcats were since the 12:47 mark of the first half.
Sophomore forward
Ruta Vetra and Tullis both came off the bench and hit key shots in the second half, enabling the Highlanders to push their lead to 43-38 with 11 minutes left in regulation.
The Bearcats did cut the lead to three at 49-46 on a jump shot from Kim Albrecht with 3:26 left, but could not get any closer.
The Highlanders return to action Tuesday, Dec. 9 as part of a doubleheader with the men's team. The women face Hofstra at 5:30 p.m. and the men's team plays St. Francis Brooklyn at 7:30 p.m.
