Post Game Comments w/ Coach Lanpher

NEWARK, NJ—Samantha Widmann registered 23 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, leading visiting Cornell to a 61-46 victory over NJIT Wednesday morning on Education Day at the NJIT Wellness and Events Center.

In addition Widmann's 23 points, Cornell's (4-9) Christine Ehland finished with 13 points and six rebounds.  Widmann combined for 9-for-14 from the field and 3-of-4 from behind the arc while Enland finished 6-for-9 from the field.

NJIT (2-13) had two players in double-figures – Danielle Tunstall (12) and Ellyn Stoll (10).  Tunstall also led the Highlanders on the boards, coming one rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds.  Stoll connected on 3-of-7 from three-point range while Tunstall shot 6-for-11 from the field.

Senior forward Taj Lewis chipped in eight points and three rebounds off the bench for NJIT.

Cornell scored the first four points of the contest for a 4-0 lead.  NJIT's Ellyn Stoll got the Highlanders on the board with her first three-pointer of the game, which sparked a 7-0 spurt for a 7-4 lead. 

The Big Red's Widmann gave the visitors a 10-9 lead and the Highlanders scored four straight for a 13-10 advantage at the 2:46 mark and held a one-point advantage, 13-12, at the end of the first quarter.  Widmann led the Big Red with eight points while Danielle Tunstall scored six points for NJIT.

Tied at 15-all in the second quarter, Tunstall took control scoring four straight points, giving the Highlanders a 19-18 lead just under the five-minute media as the Highlanders scored the next five consecutive for a 24-18 lead at the 4:07 mark.  Cornell's used a 7-0 run to close out the second quarter with a one-point advantage, 25-24.

Widmann led all scorers at the half with 12 points and four rebounds while NJIT's Tunstall netted 10 points on 5-of-6 from the field.

Cornell opened the third quarter on an 11-4 spurt to push ahead, 36-28, including a pair of three-pointers by Widmann and held a 44-30 lead, heading into the fourth quarter.

The Big Red scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to stretch its lead to 47-32 before a Highlander rally which NJIT cut the lead to 11, 47-36 with 7:00 to play.

Cornell responded with nine unanswered, all of which came from Widmann and Ehland to push the Big Red to a 20-point advantage 56-36 with 3:02.

The Big Red went on to win, 61-46.

NJIT Athletics, which hosted its annual Education Day, invites schools to participate in a fun and Educational Day filled with basketball and learning.  Each school was given a tour of the NJIT campus, including a 10-minute lecture from special departments teaching students about college life. 

NJIT concludes the non-conference portion of its schedule and opens the 2018 ASUN Conference campaign on Saturday, January 6 at 1pm vs. USC Upstate as part of a doubleheader with the NJIT men.  Tipoff for the men is set for 4pm vs. the Spartans from USC Upstate.