WACTH Highlights vs. Stetson

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NEWARK, NJ--Visiting Stetson outscored the Highlanders in the fourth quarter, 20-9, and Day'Neshia Banks netted a double-double for the Hatters -- 20 points and 10 rebounds -- leading Stetson to a 56-47 ASUN Conference win on Tuesday evening inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.
 
Stetson moves to 9-3 in the ASUN, 14-12 overall while the Highlanders drop its ninth straight, fall to 2-10 in the ASUN, 5-20 overall. 
 
Banks, the only double-figure scorer for the Hatters, finished 9-for-15 from the field, netting 20 points and grabbing a game-best 10 rebounds.  Guard Bianca Fizouaty added nine points while Addi Walters notched eight rebounds for the Hatters.
 
NJIT's only double-digit scorer on the night was junior forward Danielle Tunstall, who combined for 15 points and eight rebounds.  Tunstall finished 6-for-11 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line.
 
Sophomore guard Ellyn Stoll added nine points while Milena Bajic posted eight points and pulled down six rebounds.
 
Stetson opened the scoring with a three-pointer in the corner and the Highlanders used an 8-2 early run, taking a 7-5 lead.  NJIT pushed it lead to 11-7 on a layup by Dez Allen at the 6:11 mark.  After a bucket by Stetson at the 5:51 mark, neither team scored over the next three minutes until a three-pointer by Addi Walters, who leads the ASUN Conference in three-point field goal percentage.
 
NJIT's Stoll answered with a three-pointer of her own giving the Highlanders a 14-12 lead.   Stetson's Day'Nesha scored the final basket of the quarter on a fast break layup, pulling within one, 16-15, of the home team.
 
A scoring lowing affair in the second quarter for both teams, Stetson outscored the Highlanders, 8-3, taking its largest lead of the game, 23-19, heading into half time.  Stetson's Day'Neisha led all scorers after the first 20 minutes with eight points and four rebounds while NJIT's Danielle Tunstall scored six points and grabbed three rebounds for the Highlanders.
 
NJIT came out on fire in the third quarter on an 8-0 run to regain the lead 27-23, paced by four points by Danielle Tunstall in the run.   NJIT increased its lead to eight, 38-30, after a four-point play by Stoll.  Stetson used a 5-0 short spurt, cutting the Highlander deficit to three, 38-35.
 
The Hatters, which scored the five points to end the third quarter, opened the fourth stanza on a 9-2 spurt (15-2 total), taking a  45-40 with seven minutes remaining in the contest.  NJIT's Milena Bajic knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key to pull within two, 45-43, just under the six-minute mark.
 
Stetson scored seven unanswered, extending its lead to 51-43, its largest lead of the game, at the four-minute mark.  NJIT would slim the deficit to five, 52-47, after a pair of free throws by Tatianna Torres with twenty-seven seconds remaining. 
 
The Highlanders with a chance to pull within three on a three-pointer by Bajic with nineteen seconds, bounced off the back of the rim as Stetson secured the 56-47 victory.
 
NJIT will return to action on Saturday, February 23 when the Highlanders visit Jacksonville at 1pm.  In the first meeting in Newark, the Dolphins defeated NJIT, 61-56, on January 19.