Highlights vs. LIU Brooklyn
NEWARK, NJ—Despite a season-best performance 29 points from NJIT senior forward
Taj Lewis, visiting LIU Brooklyn cruised to a 67-49 victory over the Highlanders Wednesday evening in non-conference women's basketball action at the Wellness and Events Center.
LIU Brooklyn improves to an even 3-3 on the season while the Highlanders, still in search of its first win of the season, falls to 0-7.
Guard Denish Petty Evans led LIU Brooklyn with 24 points followed by Seneca Richards, who came off the bench for the Blackbirds and netted 12 points. Guard Drew Winter just missed notching a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds while dishing out a game-best five assists.
Lewis, who scored 29 of the Highlanders 49 points, finished the night shooting 13-for-18 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. The 5-foot-10 forward was one rebound shy a double-double, grabbing nine boards while adding three steals.
Redshirt junior
Tatianna Torres chipped in 10 points and added five rebounds for the Highlanders. Freshman
Ellyn Stoll added six points and four rebounds for NJIT.
Taj Lewis scored the opening six points for NJIT, taking a 6-0 lead, resulting in an early timeout by LIU Brooklyn. The Blackbirds used a 8-2 run to knot the game at 8-8 all, on back-to-back three-pointers by Seneca Richards with 4:18 on the clock.
Tatianna Torres put the Highlanders ahead, 10-8, dribbling the ball coast-to-coast, at the 2:26 mark. LIU Brooklyn scored the final bucket of the quarter to pull within one, 11-10. Lewis led all scorers at the end of the first quarter with eight points.
LIU Brooklyn scored the opening eight points of the second quarter to push ahead, 16-11. Lewis scored the home teams' first points of the second quarter on a jumper at the 6:40 mark but the visiting Blackbirds scored four consecutive for a 20-13 lead.
The visitors used a 10-4 spurt to close out the second quarter, leading 30-17.
Lewis led all scorers after the first 20 minutes of action with 14 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the field. LIU Brooklyn's Denish Petty Evans led the visitors with nine points.
LIU Brooklyn started the third quarter on an 11-0 run for its largest lead of the game, 41-17. Sophomore
Tracey Brereton knocked down a three-pointer with the shot clock running down at the 5:28 mark to break the run for the Blackbirds.
In the fourth quarter, the Highlanders came out on top, outscoring the visitors, 22-15, led by Lewis with 11 points and Torres with eight.
NJIT will return to action on Saturday at 2:30pm when the Highlanders visit Morgan State in Baltimore, Maryland.
