EDINGBURG, TX—Sophomore guard Shawnte' Goff converted a three-point play with 19 seconds left in the game to give Texas-Pan American a 54-53 advantage and the Broncs went on to win, nipping visiting NJIT, Monday in women's basketball action at the UTPA Fieldhouse.

The win for the Broncs was the second straight and fourth in the last five games, improving their record to 15-11 overall. The Highlanders, who entered the contest winners of their last two games, drop to 10-16 on the season.

The Highlanders surged ahead by two, 53-51, after a driving layup by Alyssa Albanese with 47 seconds left on the clock.  The Broncs' Goff hit an acrobatic bank shot with 20.6 seconds remaining in the game and drew a foul, sending her to the free throw line with the game tied at 53.  Goff converted the free throw for a 54-53 lead.

After a timeout by Texas-Pan American, NJIT's Albanese had a chance to give the Highlanders the lead and drove into the lane, but Goff blocked the shot.  Goff grabbed the defensive rebound that followed with nine seconds left and advanced the ball ahead to teammate Rickell Preston, who missed a layup with three seconds on the clock.  NJIT's Martina Matejcikova got the rebound, but there wasn't enough time for a last-second shot.

Goff, a preseason first-team all-WAC honoree, scored 17 of her game-leading 25 points in the first half on 8-of-20 shooting, including 7-of-7 from the free throw line.  The 5-foot-8 guard grabbed six rebounds, two assists and two blocks.  Senior Brittany Bush netted 20 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field with a game-high nine rebounds.

Albanese paced the Highlanders with 18 points, shooting 9-for-20 from the field, while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds and three steals.  The three steals Monday raises Albanese's career total to 128, three shy of the NJIT Division I record held by Taiwo Oyelola (131; 2006-10), with three games remaining on 2015 schedule.

Senior guard Kim Tullis netted nine points while Matejcikova and Alana Dudley netted eight points apiece.

The Highlanders jumped out to an early 9-2 lead behind five points from Matejcikova.  However, the Broncs used a 14-0 spurt over the next five minutes pushing ahead, 16-9, with 8:10 left to play in the first half. 
 
NJIT scored the next eight points, sparked by Maria Ruban, who hit one of two at the free line, as part of a 12-2 run to go ahead, 21-18, after a jumper by Albanese at the 2:37 mark.

Texas-Pan American connected on back-to-back jumpers to give the Broncs a 22-21 lead with 1:26 on the clock.  Albanese knocked down a jumper with 27 seconds on the clock giving the Highlanders a 23-22 advantage heading into the locker room.

Goff led all scorers at the break with 17 points while NJIT's Albanese paced the Highlanders with 12 points.

NJIT scored the first four points of the second half to extend the Highlander lead to five, 27-22.  Tullis scored all four points for NJIT in opening 2:45.
Texas-Pan American's Goff responded with a three and Tonisha Walker converted a four-point play to give the Broncs a 29-27 lead at the 16:17 mark.  The Highlanders responded on a 9-2 run sparked by a three-pointer by Matejcikova, to go up 36-31, with 14:06 left to play.

Broncs' Bush hit a layup and Hildur Bjorg Kjartansdottir knocked down her only three of the game for the contests first tie, 36-36, at the 12:29 mark.

The Highlanders held a six-point advantage, 48-42, with 4:42 left to play, after a mid-range jumper by Albanese.  Texas-Pan American scored the next nine points of the game taking a three-point lead, 51-48, with less than three minutes to play.

NJIT's Alana Dudley knocked down her second three-pointer of the game from the corner with 43 seconds left on the clock knotting the game at 51.

The Highlanders, who have three regular season games remaining, will return to action on February 24 hosting Maryland Eastern Shore at 7pm in the Fleisher Athletic Center.