CAMBRIDGE, MA—Harvard scored 33 second-half points and the Crimson won its seventh straight game of the season, defeating visiting NJIT 59-38 Sunday afternoon in non-conference women's basketball action at Lavietes Pavilion.

The Crimson, winners of its last seven games, after dropping its season opener at Minnesota, improved to 7-1 on the season while the Highlanders drop its second straight, falling to 3-5 on the young season.

Harvard, which advanced to the WNIT Tournament a season ago, were paced by sophomore Sydney Skinner's 14 points – 12 of which were scored from behind the arc and freshman point guard Katie Benzan with 11 points. 

The Crimson dominated the glass, finishing with a 61-to-22 advantage, led by senior forward Destiny Nunley with a game-best 15 boards. 

Benzan was the game leader with seven assists, as the Crimson dished out 17 assists as a team.

NJIT was led by redshirt sophomore Kelly Guarino, who shared game-high honors with Harvard's Skinner with 14 points, knocking down a season-best four three-pointers.

Senior forward Leah Horton netted nine points followed by eight from Tatianna Torres.  Guard Alana Dudley dished out a team-best four assists and game-high four steals for the Highlanders.

Harvard scored the first four points of the game and extended its lead to 10, 14-4, after seven straight points.  NJIT scored eight unanswered points, sparked by one-of-two from the free throw line from Dudley, closing the Crimson deficit to two, 14-12, to close out the first quarter.

The Crimson opened the second quarter with five quick points, taking a 19-12 advantage.  Neither team scored until a converted layup by Horton with 4:50 on the clock, slimming the Crimson lead to five 19-14.  After a 7-2 spurt by Harvard, the Crimson held a 10-point advantage heading into the break, 26-16.

Harvard began the third quarter with five points, pushing its lead to 18, 36-18, after a jumper inside the three-point arc by Nani Radford with 3:02 left on the clock.  NJIT's Guarino sank a three-pointer just under the two-minute mark and Torres followed with a jumper, cutting the lead to 13, 36-23 with 1:34 left to go in the quarter. 

The Crimson took its biggest lead of the game, 24, 49-25, in the fourth period, after a three-pointer by Skinner, keeping the game out of reach from the Highlanders.  Harvard secured its seventh straight win with a 59-38 victory.

NJIT, which completes a four-game road trip, will return back to action at home, hosting Binghamton at Tuesday at 7pm.